*  *  *  *  * 


#  ,* 


GIFT  OF 


FORTY    YEARS 


IN 


THE    TURKISH    EMPIRE. 


FORTY  YEARS 


IN   THE 


TURKISH   EMPIRE; 

OR, 

;fjfl£ttt0itgi     Of 

REV.  WILLIAM    GOODELL,  D.D., 

LATE   MISSIONARY   OF   THE   A.    B.    C.    F.    M.    AT   CONSTANTINOPLE. 

BY    HIS   SON-IN-LAW, 

E.    D.    G.    PRIME,    D.D. 


NEW    YORK: 

ROBERT  CARTER  AND  BROTHERS, 

530  BROADWAY. 

1876. 


Copyright, 
BY  ROBERT  CARTER  &  BROTHERS. 

1875- 

V   .,     r  -;:   iy-i    v,- 


Cambridge : 
Press  of  John   Wilson  6*  Son. 


INTRODUCTION. 


IN  the  year  1860,  in  a  public  address  in  the  city  of 
London,  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury  paid  the  following 
tribute  to  the  character  of  the  American  Missionaries 
in  Turkey :  — 

"  I  do  not  believe  that  in  the  whole  history  of  missions ;  I 
do  not  believe,  that  in  the  history  of  diplomacy,  or  in  the  history 
of  any  negotiations  carried  on  between  man  and  man,  we  can 
find  any  thing  to  equal  the  wisdom,  the  soundness,  and  the 
pure  evangelical  truth  of  the  body  of  men  who  constitute  the 
American  mission.  I  have  said  it  twenty  times  before,  and  I 
will  say  it  again  —  for  the  expression  appropriately  conveys 
my  meaning  —  that  '  they  are  a  marvellous  combination  of 
common  sense  and  piety.'  Every  man  who  comes  in  contact 
with  these  missionaries  speaks  in  praise  of  them.  Persons  in 
authority,  and  persons  in  subjection,  all  speak  in  their  favor; 
travellers  speak  well  of  them ;  and  I  know  of  no  man  who 
has  ever  been  able  to  bring  against  that  body  a  single  valid 
objection.  There  they  stand,  tested  by  years,  tried  by  their 
works,  and  exemplified  by  their  fruits ;  and  I  believe  it  will 
be  found,  that  these  American  missionaries  have  done  more 
toward  upholding  the  truth  and  spreading  the  Gospel  of 
Christ  in  the  East,  than  any  other  body  of  men  in  this  or  in 
any  other  age." 

This  volume  is  designed  to  preserve  the  memory 
and  perpetuate  the  influence  of  the  pioneer  of  this 
noble  band  of  missionaries  at  the  Turkish  capital, 

M183839 


VI  INTRODUCTION. 

the  one  most  honored  and  beloved,  according  to  the 
testimony  of  all  his  associates.  A  man  of  almost 
singular  simplicity  of  character,  he  had  a  rare  com 
bination  of  qualities  which  in  him  were  in  nowise 
inconsistent.  With  the  utmost  firmness  in  adhering 
to  his  convictions  of  truth  and  of  duty,  which  were 
of  the  most  decided  character,  he  had  the  gentleness 
of  a  child  in  his  mode  of  expressing  them.  While 
consecrated  to  the  great  work  of  advancing  and 
establishing  the  kingdom  of  his  divine  Master  among 
men,  and  pursuing  it  with  a  singleness  of  aim  and  a 
seriousness  of  heart  that  proved  it  to  be  his  absorb 
ing  object  in  life,  by  his  cheerful  disposition  and  his 
affectionate  bearing  toward  all  with  whom  he  came  in 
contact,  he  made  his  presence  a  continual  benedic 
tion.  He  exemplified  the  apostolic  injunction,  "  Let 
your  speech  be  always  with  grace,  seasoned  with 
salt,"  but  at  the  same  time  the  spice  of  wit,  of  genuine 
humor,  added  a  charm  to  his  conversation  and  left  a 
fragrance  on  all  that  came  from  his  pen. 

He  kept  no  diary  of  his  varying  emotions.  He 
was  apparently  so  devoid  of  self-consciousness  and  so 
engrossed  with  his  life-work  that  he  seldom  turned 
his  thoughts  in  upon  himself.  The  journal  which 
he  kept,  with  more  or  less  fulness,  during  the  greater 
part  of  his  life,  was  simply  a  record  of  events.  This, 
together  with  his  correspondence,  public  and  private, 
which  was  inimitable  in  style,  has  furnished  an  em 
barrassing  amount  of  material  for  a  single  volume, 
the  perplexity  arising  from  the  difficulty  in  deciding 


INTRODUCTION.  Vll 

what  to  omit.  His  letters  alone,  which  were  unique, 
lively,  and  truly  spiritual  in  their  tone,  —  letters 
of  friendship,  of  affection,  of  consolation,  would  fill 
many  volumes. 

His  residence  and  labors  at  Constantinople  covered 
the  entire  period  marked  by  that  movement  known 
as  the  Protestant  Reformation  in  Turkey.  Being  the 
first  missionary  on  the  ground  ;  having  been  instru 
mental  in  establishing  numerous  schools  for  the  vari 
ous  classes  of  the  population ;  having  translated  the 
whole  word  of  God  out  of  the  original  tongues  into 
the  language  of  a  large  part  of  the  people  ;  and  hav 
ing  preached  the  gospel  daily  at  the  capital,  and  up 
and  down  the  Bosphorus  at  the  various  suburbs,  he 
was  one  of  the  chosen  instruments  of  that  reforma 
tion  during  all  its  progress.  On  this  account  no 
inconsiderable  portion  of  the  volume  is  devoted  to  a 
record  of  this  remarkable  movement,  which  forms 
one  of  the  most  interesting  chapters  in  the  annals  of 
Christian  missions.  This  record  is  here  necessarily 
confined  to  the  work  as  immediately  connected  with 
the  labors  of  Dr.  Goodell. 

The  history  of  such  a  life,  as  that  which  is  imper 
fectly  sketched  in  these  pages,  is  alone  a  sufficient 
answer  to  the  question,  "  What  have  Christian  mis 
sions  accomplished  ?  " 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION 


CHAPTER  1 1-21 

His  Mother.— Letter  on  the  Death  of  his  Father.  —  Solomon  Goodell.  — 
Great-Uncles.  —  Sabbaths  in  Olden  Time.  —  New  England  Pastors.  — 
Before  the  Days  of  Temperance. 

CHAPTER  II 22-46 

Phillips  Academy.  —  Preceptor  Adams.  —  Schoolmates.  —  Yoke  of  Oxen. — 
Teaching  School.  —  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.  —  Dartmouth  College.  —  Class 
mates. —  Revival  in  College.  —  Fruits.  —  Ordination  of  Newell,  Judson, 
&c.,  at  Salem.  —  Harriet  Newell. 

CHAPTER  III 47-61 

Andover  Theological  Seminary. — Missionary  Association.  —  Ordination  of 
Fisk,  Spaulding,  &c.  —  Devotes  himself  to  Missionary  Service.  —  How 
he  found  a  Wife.  — Daniel  Temple.  —  How  he  found  a  Wife  for  a  Friend. 
—  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thurston.  —  Mr.  Bingham. — Elizabeth  Adams. 

CHAPTER  IV 62-70 

Evangelistic  Labors.  —  Roman  Catholic  Helper.  —  Licensed  to  Preach. — 
Attending  Medical  Lectures. — Agency  for  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  —  Catskill. — 
Serious  Accident.  —  Judge  Cooke.  —  Western  New  York.  —  Ohio  and  In 
diana.  —  Visit  to  the  Indian  Missions. 

CHAPTER  V 71-84 

His  Ordination  at  New  Haven.  —  Marriage.  —  Departure  for  Palestine.— 
Malta.  —  Voyage  to  Beyrout.  —  Crete.  —  Cyprus.  —  Greek  Privateer.  — 
Mr.  Abbott. — Missionary  Labors  at  Beyrout.  —  Acquiring  Languages.— 
Maronite  Priest.  — Armenian  Helpers. 

CHAPTER  VI 85-102 

Head-quarters  at  Beyrout.  —  Death  of  Pliny  Fisk.  —  Greek  Revolution.— 
Beyrout  Bombarded. — Anarchy.  —  Mr.  Goodell's  House  Pillaged.  —  In 
demnity.  —  Calamities  Overruled.  —  Success  of  Work.  —  Interesting  Com 
munion.  — Asaad  Shidiak.  —  Mountain  Retreat. 

CHAPTER   VII 103-111 

Driven  from  Syria.  —  Work  Broken  Up.  — Voyage  to  Malta.  — Lazaretto. — 
Domestic  Enjoyment.  —  Greek  Pirates  Executed.  —  Episcopal  Missiona 
ries,  Messrs.  Robertson  and  Hill.  —  Carabet  and  Wortabet. — Translating 
Scriptures. 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VIII 112-125 

Kemoved  to  Constantinople.  —  Approach  to  the  City. — Pera.  —  Destructive 
Conflagration.  —  Descriptive  Letter.  —  Loses  Everything.  —  Buyuk  Dere. 
— Americans  at  Constantinople.  —  Commodore  Porter.  —  Birth  of  a  Son, 
Constantino  Washington. — Remarkable  Hail-Storm. 

CHAPTER  IX 126-148 

Population  of  Constantinople.  —  The  Armenians.  —  Greeks.  —  Establishing 
Lancasterian  Schools.  —  Mission  Work.  —  Letter  to  Mrs.  Bethune.  —  Ar 
menian  Patriarch.  —  Epiphania  of  the  Greeks.  —  Snow  Storm.  —  Fish 
Church. — The  Eucharist.  —  Journey  to  Broosa  with  Commodore  Porter. 

—  Nicomedea.  —  Ancient  Nice.  —  Greek   School  for   Girls.  —  Turkish 
Schools.  —  Amusing  Visitor. — A  Marriage.  —  Arrival  of  Messrs.  Dwight 
and  Schauffler.  —  The  Muezzin. 

CHAPTER  X 149-169 

Plague  and  Cholera.  —  Disasters  to  Turkish  Army.  —  Mohammed  Ali.  —  St. 
Simonians.  —  Turkish  Etiquette  — Letter  to  S.  E.  Morse.  —  Turkish  Char 
acter. —  A  Circumcision.  —  Turkish  Dinner.  —  Ordination  of  Armenian 
Priests.  —  Panayotes  Constantinides  —  Hohannes  and  Senakerim.  —  Pesh- 
timaljian. — Encouraging  Prospects.  —  Visit  to  Sultan's  Palace.  —  Visited 
by  a  Jesuit. 

CHAPTER  XI 170-201 

Wisdom  in  Conducting  Missions.  —  His  Policy.  — Armenian  Bigotry.  —  New 
Patriarch.  —  Death  of  Drs.  Dodge,  at  Jerusalem,  Morrison,  in  China, 
Carey  at  Serampore.  — Lyinan  and  Munson  at  Sumatra.  — Citizenship  in 
Heaven.  —  Visit  of  Armenian  Bishops.  —  Letter  to  Dr.  Plumer.  —  Quali 
fications  of  a  Missionary's  Wife. — Trials  at  Broosa.  —  Striking  Coinci 
dences.  —  Vicissitudes  of  Work.  —  Visit  to  Broosa.  —  Incidents  of 
Journey. 

CHAPTER  XII 202-228 

The  Plague.  —  Its  Origin. — Mohammedan  Fatalism.  —  Great  Mortality.  — 

Rigid  Quarantine  of  Houses.  —  Letter  to  Judge  Cooke.  —  Death  of  Mrs. 

Dwight  by  the  Plague.  —  Another  Letter  to  Judge  Cooke.  —  Other  Trials. 

—  Retrenching.  —  Worship  of   Saints.  —  Journey  to  Trebizond.  —  Inci 
dents. —  "Dairyman's  Daughter"    and  Revival  at  Nicomedia. — Visit 
of  Two  Priests.  —  Letters  to  Mr.  Grimshawe.  —  Dr.  De  Kay. 

CHAPTER  XIII 229-247 

Breaking  Out  of  Persecution.  —  System  of  Government.  —  Armenian  Bank 
ers. —  Converts  seized,  thrown  into  prison,  banished.  —  Providential  In 
terposition. —  Death  of  Sultan  Mahmoud.  —  Abdul  Mcdjid  Inaugurated. 

—  Another  Great  Fire.  —  Turkish  Reforms.  —  Hatti  Shcrif  of  Gul  Plane. 

—  The  Jews.  —Mr.  Goodell's  Catholic  Spirit.  —  Letter  to  Prof.  Haddock. 

—  Views  of  Duty. 


CONTENTS.  XI 

CHAPTER  XIV 248-265 

Domestic  Afflictions.  —  Death  of  his  Son,  Constantine  Washington.  —  Letter 

to  his  Aged  Father.  —  Children's  Letters.  —  Brightening  Prospects  of 

the  Mission. 

CHAPTER  XV 266-290 

Translation  Completed.  —  Letter  to  Rev.  S.  H.  Calhoun  on  its  Completion. 

—  To  John  Adams,  LL.  D.  —  To  his  Brother,  on  his  Fiftieth  Year.  —  In 
cidents  from  his  Journal.  — Lectures  on  the  Bible.  — Value  of  the  Scrip 
tures.  —  Death   of    Commodore  Porter.  —  Lucy  Goodale  Thurston.  — 
Letters  to  Mrs.  Thurston  and  Mrs.  Cumings. — Jonas  King. — Death  of 
Mr.  G.'s  Father. 

CHAPTER  XVI 291-314 

Execution  for  Apostasy.  —  Interference  of  Foreign  Powers.  —  Scottish  Dis 
ruption. —  Letter  to  Mr.  Stewart.  —  A  New-England  Thanksgiving  at 
Constantinople.  —  Great  Changes.  —  Letter  to  Dr.  Anderson.  —  Mr.  Tem 
ple's  Recall.  —  Departure  of  Two  Daughters.  —  Infernal  Machine.  — 
Social  Persecution.  —  Christ's  Kingdom  Present.  —  Girls'  Boarding  School. 

—  Vertanes  excommunicated.  —  Anathemas. —  Great  Distress. —  Dark 
Days. 

CHAPTER  XVII 315-327 

First  Protestant  Church  Organized.  —  Great  Joy.  —  Pastor  Chosen.  —  Reasons 
given  by  the  Church.  —  By  the  Mission.  —  Death  of  Two  Aged  Members. 

—  Their  History.  —  Revival  in  Boarding  School.  — Declines  Visiting  the 
Holy  Laud.  —  Visit  to  Smyrna.  —  First  Protestant  Marriage. 

CHAPTER  XVIII 328-353 

Death  of  British  Chaplain.  —  Protestant  Charter  of  1847.  —  Letter  to  Judge 
Cooke.  —  Great  Union  Prayer  Meeting.  —  Letter  to  Drs.  Spaulding  and 
Winslow.  —  Prince  of  Beggars.  —  Self-Sustentation.  —  Curtailing  Expen 
ses.  —  Changes  in  Mission.  — Another  Fire.  —  Revival  in  School.  — Visit 
to  Nicomedia  and  Ada  Bazar.  —  Another  Conflagration.  —  Remarkable 
Interview.  —  Protestant  Charter  of  1850. 

CHAPTER  XIX 354-368 

Revisiting  America.  —  Letters  of  Mr.  Schauffler  and  Bishop  Gobat.  —  Death 
of  Mr.  Temple.  —  Templeton. — Visiting  his  Kindred.  —  Changes  of 
Thirty  Years.  —  Reminiscences.  —  Return  to  Constantinople.  —  Letters  to 
Dr.  John  Adams  and  Dr.  Anderson. — Degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from 
Two  Colleges. 

CHAPTER  XX 369-382 

Resuming  his  Work.  —  Helpers.  —  Call  for  Men.  —  Aggressive  Movements 
at  Home.  —  Letter  to  Children  in  America. — Seven  Marys.  —  Patriarch 
Reproved.  —  Cherokee  Daughters.  —  Letter  to  a  Baptist  Church. 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXI 383-407 

The  Crimean  War.  —  Fears  for  the  Mission.  —  The  Hatti  Humayoun.  —  Tenth 
Anniversary  of  the  Church.  —  Lord  Stratford's  Departure.  —  Letter  to 
Phillips  Academy.  —  Correspondence  with  Dr.  Hamlin. — His  Brother's 
Death.  —  Three  Pairs  of  Spectacles.  —  Count  de  Zuylen.  —  Revivals  in 
America.  —  Marriage  of  a  Daughter.  —  Jubilee  of  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  —  Remi 
niscences. —  Death  of  Panayotes. — Threescore  and  Ten. 

CHAPTER  XXII 408-424 

Visit  to  Aleppo.  —  Murder  of  Mr.  Coffing.  —  Incident  with  Turks.  —  Aintab. 

—  At  Bey  rout.  —  Great  Changes.  —  Scenes  and  Incidents.  —  Invited  to 
England — Correspondence.  —  Letter  to  his  Children. —  Letter  from  a 
Lady.  —  Thanksgiving.  —  Dr.  Goodell's  Reminiscences.  —  Our  Civil  War. 

CHAPTER  XXIII 425-451 

Work  among  Turks.  —  Great  Excitement.  —  Letter  to  Lord  Stratford.  —  His 
Reply.  —  Dr.  Pfander  and  Mr.  O'Flaherty.  —  Sir  Henry  Bulwer's  Course. 

—  Gift  of  Bell  and  Organ  by  Madison  Square  Church,  New  York.  — In 
vitation  to  a  Silver  Wedding.  —  Farewell  Letter  to  Evangelical  Churches. 

CHAPTER  XXIV 442-451 

Increasing  Infirmities.  —  Decides  to  return  to  America.  —  Letter  to  the 
Board.  —  Sundering  of  Many  Ties.  —  Meeting  of  Residents.  —  Address 
to  Dr.  Goodell.  —  Presentations. — Letter  to  Children  of  Missionaries. — 
Letter  of  Mr.  Morris,  U.  S.  Minister.  —  Farewell  Calls  in  the  City.  —  De 
parture  from  Constantinople.  —  Arrival  at  Boston. — Hartford. 

CHAPTER   XXV 452-408 

Meeting  of  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  at  Chicago.  —  Dr.  Goodell's  Address.  —  Incidents. 

—  Journeyings.  —  Letter  of  Dr.  S.  I.  Prime.  —  Home  at  his  Son's  in  Phila 
delphia. —  As  a  Church  Member.  — Fall  on  the  Ice  and  Broken  Arm.  — 
Letter  to  Dr.  Schauffler.  —  Summer  Tour  in  3866.  —  Constant  Labors. — 
Meeting  of  Board  at  Pittsfield.  — Return  to  Philadelphia.  —  Writing  Rem 
iniscences.  —  Brief  Illness.  —  His  Death.  —  Death  of  Mrs.  Goodell. 

CHAPTER  XXVI 469-479 

Tributes  to  his  Memory  from  former  Associates,  Rev.  Isaac  Bird;  Rev.  Dr. 
Hamlin;  Rev.  Dr.  Schauffler. 

APPENDIX 480 

Imperial  Documents  on  Civil  and  Religious  Liberty.  —  Hatti  Sherif  of  Gul 
Hane". —  Pledge  of  Sultan  abolishing  Death  Penalty  for  Apostasy. — 
Protestant  Charter  of  1847.  —  Protestant  Charter  of  1850.  —  Firman  of 
1853  protecting  Protestants.  —  Hatti  Humayoun  of  1856.  —  Treaty  of 
Paris. 


FORTY  YEAHS 
IN    THE     TURKISH     EMPIRE. 


CHAPTER    I. 

WHEN  Dr.  Goodell  returned  to  his  native  land  in 
1865,  to  spend  the  evening  of  his  days  and  die 
among  his  kindred,  his  children  united  in  an  urgent  request 
that  he  would  commit  to  paper  for  their  perusal  and  preser 
vation  such  recollections  of  his  life  as  he  might  have  strength 
to  record.  With  characteristic  modesty  he  shrank  for  a 
long  time  from  complying  with  their  request,  until  by  a  sort 
of  stratagem  he  was  induced  to  write  down  some  reminiscences 
of  his  earlier  years.  He  had  only  begun  the  record  when, 
after  an  illness  of  a  few  hours,  he  fell  asleep,  "  and  he  was 
not,  for  God  took  him."  The  few  sketches  he  had  pre 
pared  are  comprised  in  the  earlier  pages  of  this  volume,  and 
commence  as  follows :  — 

"Mr  DEAR  SON, —  In  complying  with  your  request  to 
give  you  some  reminiscences  of  my  early  days,  and  of  the 
1  Olden  Time,'  I  cannot  do  better,  perhaps,  than  to  begin  at 
the  very  beginning.  Though  I  cannot  testify  to  it  from  my 
own  personal  recollection,  yet  it  has  been  asserted  too  often 
to  be  now  called  in  question,  that  at  Templeton,  Mass.,  the 
morning  of  the  14th  of  February,  1792,  was  very  tempestu 
ous,  and  that  the  snow-storm  was  so  furiously  driving  and 
drifting  as  almost  to  prevent  our  family  physician,  who  lived 
full  three  miles  away,  arriving  hi  season  to  be  present  at 

1  A 


2  FORTY    YEARS   IN    THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

my  first  appearance  on  this  or  any  other  stage.  The  small 
room  in  which  I  first  saw  the  light  of  this  world  was,  in  my 
day,  always  called  '  The  Stranger's  Room,'  but  whether  it  had 
always  been  called  such,  or  whether  it  was  so  named  from 
its  having  received  the  little  stranger  on  that  cold,  stormy 
morning,  I  cannot  say.  This  room  was,  it  may  be,  nine 
feet  by  seven,  and  contained  one  window,  a  bed,  a  small 
table,  a  Bible,  a  hymn-book,  and  two  or  three  chairs.  Ad 
joining  this  room,  and  to  be  passed  through  in  order  to  reach 
it,  was  one  other  room,  and  only  one,  and  this  was  our 
kitchen,  our  parlor,  our  dining-saloon,  and,  in  fact,  every 
thing  else  which  can  be  predicated  of  a  New  England  home. 
The  house  stood  on  the  hill-side,  and  was  one  story  high. 
Under  our  parents'  bed  was  the  trundle-bed,  which  was 
regularly  rolled  out  at  night,  and  rolled  back  every  morn 
ing.  Here  three  of  us  were  nicely  tucked  in  every  night, 
and  here  we  began  to  repeat,  with  all  seriousness,  *  Our 
Father,'  and  '  Now  I  lay  me/  And  here  we  had  as  pleasant 
dreams  and  as  refreshing  sleep  as  though  we  were  in  the 
king's  palace. 

"  The  vivid  impressions  I  have  of  my  father  you  already 
know  from  the  tract  called  *  The  Missionary's  Father.'  And 
justice  to  the  memory  of  my  gentle  mother  requires  me  to 
say  that  she  possessed  '  like  precious  faith '  with  my  father, 
and  that  she  was  in  every  way  worthy  of  him.  She  pos 
sessed,  in  an  eminent  degree,  'a  meek  and  quiet  spirit,'  and 
was  a  woman  of  great  delicacy  of  feeling,  an  example  of 
taste  in  dress  and  of  neatness  in  every  thing.  The  comforts 
she  had  were  few,  but  she  contrived  to  increase  and  multiply 
those  few  as  only  a  woman  of  great  economy  and  thrift 
could  do.  For  many  years  an  invalid,  her  last  sickness 
was  long  and  painful,  but  not  a  word  of  complaint  do  I 
recollect  of  ever  having  heard  her  speak.  On  the  morning 
of  Dec.  2,  1809,  we  all  assembled  in  that  little  Stran 
ger's  Room  to  hear  her  last  words.  And  she  passed  away 
with  hallelujahs  on  her  lips.  Well  do  I  remember  with 


HIS   MOTHER.  3 

what  clearness  of  voice  she  said,  f  Hallelujah !  hallelujah ! 

halle .'  Her  feet  seemed  yet  standing  firm  in  the  midst 

of  the  river.  But  her  voice  suddenly  ceased ;  for  strength 
and  breath  were  both  gone,  and  the  remainder  of  the  halle 
lujah  was  left  to  be  finished  on  '  the  other  side  of  Jordan.' 
"We  all  felt  sure  that  she  had  gone  from  a  world  of  sorrow 
to  one  of  joy,  from  poverty  to  the  riches  of  heaven. 

"  Eight  children,  four  sons  and  four  daughters,  survived 
her,  and  these  survived  her  many  years.  Indeed,  most  of 
them  remain  to  this  present.  At  the  time  of  her  death, 
none  of  her  children  were  professors  of  religion;  and  she 
had  to  leave  them  all  in  an  evil  world,  and  very  ill  prepared 
to  make  their  way  through  it.  But,  with  confidence,  she 
committed  them  all  to  Him  in  whom  she  herself  believed. 
Could  she  have  looked  forward  and  seen  their  pathway 
through  life ;  could  she  have  seen  all  her  eight  children, 
one  after  another,  coming  forward  and  joining  themselves 
to  the  Lord's  people,  and  three  of  her  four  sons  preaching 
the  glorious  Gospel,  and  one  of  them  becoming  a  missionary 
in  a  foreign  land  :  —  well,  I  verily  believe  the  sight  would 
have  been  too  much  for  her  feeble  frame,  and  that  she 
would  have  died  from  excess  of  joy  and  thankfulness.  O 
my  kind  mother!  I  often  think,  what  would  I  not  give 
to  see  thy  gentle  face  once  more,  and,  on  my  knees,  to 
ask  ten  thousand  pardons  for  every  unkind  word  I  ever 
answered  thee,  and  for  every  grief  or  pain  I  unnecessarily 
caused  thee ! 

"I  always  remember,  with  gratitude,  that  my  mother, 
though  herself  ill  supplied  with  means,  was  always  ready 
to  reach  forth  her  hand  to  the  needy.  Her  neighbors  loved 
and  honored  her ;  and  why  should  they  not  do  so  ?  for  on 
her  tongue  was  the  law  of  kindness,  and  she  was  ever  more 
afraid  of  doing  than  receiving  an  injury.  *  The  heart  of  her 
husband  safely  trusted  in  her,'  and,  as  they  think  of  all  her 
gentle  ways,  '  her  children  rise  up  and  call  her  blessed.' 

"  How  well  do  I  remember,  even  to  this  day,  some  of  the 


4  FORTY   YEARS   IN    THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

beautiful  hymns  she  used  to  sing  to  me  sixty-five  or  seventy 
years  ago.  How  often  in  the  days  of  her  pilgrimage,  in 
times  of  trial  and  pain,  when  spinning  flax  on  her  little 
wheel,  did  her  sweet  voice  sound  out  with  great  clearness  hi 
the  following  words :  — 

"  *  So  pilgrims  on  a  scorching  sand, 

Beneath  a  burning  sky, 
Long  for  a  cooling  stream  at  hand ; 
And  they  must  drink  or  die/ 

Yes,  and  at  the  fountain-head  of  Divine  consolation  she  did 
drink,  and  at  that  same  fountain-head  she  will  drink  for 
ever.  And  that  little  spinning-wheel,  the  distaff,  the  spin 
dle,  the  treadle,  and  all,  will  surely  be  remembered  in 
heaven. 

"  There  was  one  incident  connected  with  my  mother's  last 
painful  sickness  which  should  not  be  forgotten.  Her  appe 
tite  was  generally  poor,  but  one  morning  she  fancied  she 
could  eat  and  longed  for  a  trout.  It  was  early  in  the 
spring,  when  the  ice  in  the  rivers  and  brooks  was  just 
breaking  up,  and  the  meadows  were  all  flooded  with  the 
sluggish  waters.  I  was  in  those  days  as  great  a  fisherman 
as  the  Apostle  Peter  may  be  supposed  ever  to  have  been,  and 
I  knew  that  trout  were  ordinarily  found  only  in  the  purest 
and  swiftest  running  water.  But  at  my  mother's  earnest 
entreaty,  I  took  my  hook  and  line  and  went  on  horseback, 
riding  at  full  speed,  and  singing,  at  the  top  of  my  voice,  all 
the  way  through  the  woods  :  — 

" '  Spare  us,  O  Lord,  aloud  we  pray, 

Nor  let  our  sun  go  down  at  noon ; 
Thy  years  are  one  eternal  day, 

And  must  thy  children  die  so  soon  1 ' 

I  found  the  meadows  as  I  had  expected,  so  flooded,  I  could 
not,  in  any  conceivable  way,  reach  the  main  stream,  nor 
come  anywhere  near  it.  But  I  baited  my  hook,  and  threw 
it  into  the  nearest  waters  before  me;  and,  wonderful  to 


HIS   FATHER.  5 

relate,  a  much  larger  trout  than  it  was  common  to  take  in 
that  stream,  even  in  the  best  season  of  the  year,  immediately 
seized  it,  and  I  drew  it  to  the  land,  feeling  that  He  who  once 
directed  the  fish  to  Peter's  hook  directed  this  to  mine.  I  at 
once  carried  it  home,  and  made  savory  meat  such  as  my 
mother  loved,  that  her  soul  might  bless  me  before  her  death. 
And  I  doubt  not  she  prayed  then,  as  I  feel  assured  she  had 
often  prayed  before,  that  I  might  one  day  become  a  '  fisher 
of  men.' 

"  Though  I  never  looked  upon  this  incident  as  a  miracle, 
yet  I  thought  then,  as  I  have  always  thought  since,  that  it 
was  by  a  special  providence  this  fine  trout  was  brought  to 
my  hook ;  for,  in  the  ordinary  calculations  of  men,  there  was 
no  probability  that  this  fish  would  come  to  my  hook,  or  that, 
had  I  remained  a  fortnight  longer,  any  other  would  have 
come.  It  was  God  who  remembered  us  in  our  low  estate, 
and  especially  who,  hi  great  kindness,  remembered  my 
mother  in  all  her  feebleness.  And  that  trout,  that  flooded 
meadow,  the  old  horse  and  all,  will  surely  be  remembered  in 
heaven. 

"  Your  affectionate  father, 

"W.  GOODELL." 

The  following  letter  will  be  most  appropriately  inserted 
in  connection  with  the  preceding.  It  was  written  from  Con 
stantinople,  on  receiving  intelligence  of  the  death  of  his 
father,  who  passed  away  on  the  4th  of  July,  1843.  The 
letter  has  been  extensively  published  in  the  religious  jour 
nals,  and  also  in  the  form  of  a  tract,  entitled  "  The  Mis 
sionary's  Father;"  but  in  a  mutilated  form,  and  shorn  of 
much  of  its  beauty  and  tenderness.  It  was  also  printed  in 
this  abbreviated  form  in  the  Introduction  to  "  The  Old  and 
the  New,  or  the  Changes  of  Thirty  Years  in  the  East ; "  a 
volume  prepared  by  Dr.  Goodell  in  1853,  as  he  was  return 
ing  to  his  field  of  labor,  after  a  brief  visit  to  his  native  land. 
It  is  now  printed  just  as  it  was  originally  written.  Apart 


6  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

from  its  filial  character  and  its  spiritual  interest,  it  has  often 
been  referred  to  and  quoted,  as  one  of  the  most  graceful  and 
beautiful  specimens  of  epistolary  correspondence  to  be  found 
in  our  language. 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  Aug.  18,  1843. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  The  intelligence  contained  in  your 
letter  of  the  5th  ult.  was  not  unexpected.  Our  father  had 
attained  to  a  great  age,  lacking  only  five  days  of  being 
eighty-six  years  old.  He  was  full  of  days,  but  still  more 
full  of  faith  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  How  long  he  had 
"  borne  the  image  of  the  earthly "  before  he  was  renewed  in 
the  spirit  of  his  mind,  I  know  not ;  but  I  know  he  had  long 
borne  "  the  image  of  the  heavenly ; "  nor  have  I  any  idea 
when  it  was,  or  by  what  means  it  was,  that  his  religion  as 
sumed  so  decidedly  a  patriarchal  character ;  but  as  long  ago 
as  I  can  remember,  he  always  appeared  to  maintain  much  of 
that  same  constant  intercourse  with  heaven,  which,  in  his 
later  years,  we  can  hardly  suppose,  was  ever  interrupted  in 
his  waking  hours  for  fifteen  minutes  at  a  time. 

Though  I  can  look  back  some  forty -five  years  or  more,  yet 
I  cannot  look  back  to  the  year  when  he  was  not  living  a  life 
of  faith,  and  prayer,  and  self-denial,  —  of  deadness  to  the 
world,  and  of  close  walk  with  God.  This  was  the  more  re 
markable,  as  in  the  church,  of  which  in  those  days  he  was  a 
member,  there  was  never,  to  the  best  of  my  remembrance, 
more  than  one  individual,  and  not  always  even  one,  who 
could  fully  sympathize  with  him  in  his  religious  views 
and  feelings.  In  Christian  experience  he  certainly  seemed 
"  higher  than  any  of  the  people,  from  his  shoulders  and  up 
wards  ; "  and  those  great  evangelical  doctrines  of  the  Gospel, 
which  his  own  minister  never  preached,  arid  his  own  church 
never  adopted  into  her  creed,  were  his  meat  and  drink. 
"  The  raven,  though  an  unclean  bird,,  brought  food  to  JSlijah" 
was  a  common  expression  of  his  on  returning  from  church, 
where  he  had  been  able  to  pick  out  of  much  chaff  a  few 
crumbs  of  the  bread  of  life.  His  privileges  were  few; 
pra}^er-meetings  were  unknown ;  the  sum  total,  or  about  the 
sum  total,  of  his  library  was  the  family  Bible,  one  copy  of 
Watts's  Psalms  and  Hymns,  Doddridge's  "  Rise  and  Prog 
ress,"  Pike's  "  Cases  of  Conscience,"  the  second  volume  of 
Fox's  "  Book  of  Martyrs,"  and  last,  but  not  least,  the  As 
sembly's  Catechism. 


HIS   FATHER.  7 

But  though  his  means  of  grace  were  thus  limited,  yet, 
meditating  day  and  night  on  God's  law,  his  roots  struck 
deep ;  and  he  was  like  a  tree  planted  by  the  rivers  of  water, 
whose  leaf  is  always  green,  and  whose  fruit  is  always  abun 
dant.  Whoever  saw  him  riding  on  horseback  would,  if  he 
kept  himself  concealed,  be  almost  sure  to  see  him  engaged 
in  prayer.  Whoever  should  work  with  him  in  seed-time  or 
harvest  would  find  his  thoughts  as  actively  employed  above, 
as  his  hands  were  below.  His  employments  were  all  holy, 
and  the  implements  of  husbandry  he  used  were  all  conse 
crated  to  Christ.  Whoever  of  the  Lord's  people  met  him, 
by  day  or  by  night,  at  home  or  abroad,  alone  or  in  company, 
would  find  him  ready  to  sit  right  down  with  them  in  heavenly 
places,  in  order  to  comprehend  "what  is  the  length  and 
breadth  and  depth  and  height"  of  the  love  of  Christ. 
What  the  woman  of  Samaria  could  not  understand  he  would 
have  understood  at  once,  and  would  have  seized  hold  of  the 
very  first  hint  thrown  out  by  our  Saviour  for  spiritual  con 
versation,  however  distant  and  obscure  that  hint  might  have 
been  ;  for  "  he  that  is  spiritual  judge th  all  things." 

Being  the  youngest  of  the  family,  you  can  have  but  an 
indistinct  recollection  of  the  small  house  on  the  side  of  the 
hill,  containing  two  small  rooms  and  a  garret,  floored  with 
loose  and  rough  boards,  where  twelve  of  us  were  born ;  and 
of  the  small  clump  of  apple-trees  before  the  door,  where  your 
elder  brothers  and  sisters  played  in  the  days  of  their  thought 
less  childhood.  There,  with  no  lock  or  bolt  to  any  door, 
and  no  key  to  any  trunk  or  drawer  or  cupboard ;  there, 
where,  as  I  am  told,  nothing  now  remains  but  an  old  cellar- 
hole,  which  may  even  itself,  long  before  this,  have  been  filled 
up,  —  there  our  godly  father  prayed  for  us  with  all  prayer  and 
supplication  in  the  Spirit ;  there,  on  every  Sabbath  eve,  he 
asked  us  those  solemn,  important,  and  all-comprehensive 
questions  from  the  blessed  Catechism  of  the  Assembly  of 
Divines,  and  there,  with  eyes  and  heart  raised  to  heaven,  he 
used  to  sing  to  the  tune  of  old  Rochester :  — 

"  God,  my  supporter  and  my  hope, 

My  help  tor  ever  near ; 
Thine  arm  of  mercy  held  me  up, 
When  sinking  in  despair." 

And  there,  too,  our  mother,  of  precious  memory,  —  though, 
as  she  died  when  you  were  but  six  months  old,  you  remember 
her  not,  — there  she  lived  a  life  of  poverty,  patience,  meek- 


8  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

ness,  and  faith.  There  she  used  to  sit  and  card  her  wool 
by  the  light  of  the  pine  knot,  and  sing  to  us  those  sweet 
words :  • — 

"  Hov'ring  among  the  leaves,  there  stands 

The  sweet  celestial  Dove; 
And  Jesus  on  the  branches  hangs 
The  banner  of  his  love."  —  Watts. 

And  there,  too,  almost  thirty-four  years  ago,  we  assembled 
early  one  morning  in  her  little  bedroom  to  see  her  die.  Her 
peace  was  like  a  river ;  she  was  full  of  triumph ;  and  she 
was  able  to  address  to  us  words  of  heavenly  consolation  till 
she  had  actually  crossed  over  into  shallow  water  within  one 
minute  of  the  opposite  banks  of  the  Jordan,  —  heaven  and  all 
its  glories  full  in  view.  Precious  woman !  Though  no  man 
knoweth  the  place  of  thy  sepulchre,  and  thy  children  have 
not  been  able  to  find  the  spot  in  order  to  erect  a  humble 
stone  to  thy  memory,  yet  thy  Saviour,  who  loved  thee  with 
an  everlasting  love,  and  in  whom  even  in  the  darkest  hours 
thou  didst  have  such  sweet  confidence,  will  watch  over  thy 
dust,  and  thou  shalt  be  recognized  at  the  resurrection  of  the 
just.  "  Were  my  children  but  pious"  thou  didst  often  say  in 
thy  last  long  sickness,  "  how  cheerfully  could  1  leave  them,  and 
go  away"  But  what  thine  eyes  were  not  permitted  to  behold, 
have  not  the  angels  long  since  told  thee,  —  that  the  eight 
children  thou  didst  leave  behind,  with  all,  or  all  but  one,  of 
their  partners,  were  partakers  of  that  blessed  Gospel  "  which 
was  all  thy  salvation,  and  all  thy  desire ; "  and  that  three  of 
thy  sons  were  engaged  in  proclaiming  it  to  others?  Yes, 
God  hath  heard  thy  prayers,  and  "hath  remembered  His 
holy  covenant,"  as  we  are  all  witnesses  this  day. 

But  before  I  close,  I  must  say  something  more  of  the 
early  habits  and  character  of  our  venerable  father.  The 
little  farm  he  once  possessed,  if  it  were  not  all  ploughed  over, 
was,  I  am  confident,  almost  every  foot  of  it,  prayed  over. 
And  some  dried  apples  from  it,  which  a  subsequent  owner 
sent  me  a  few  years  since,  were  to  me  "  as  the  smell  of  a 
field  which  the  Lord  hath  blessed."  In  all  his  intercourse 
with  his  neighbors,  in  the  way  of  barter  and  trade,  he  always 
seemed  to  be  more  careful  lest  their  interests  should  suffer 
than  lest  his  own  should,  —  looking  on  their  side  with  his 
good  eye,  if  one  was  better  than  the  other,  and  on  his  own 
side  with  his  evil  one.  And  the  same  conscientiousness  he 
observed  in  his  dealings  with  a  stranger.  And  judging  from 


HIS   FATHER.  V 

my  early  impressions,  I  should  think  that  he  never  spoke  to 
a  stranger,  or  seldom  saw  one,  without  lifting  up  his  heart  in 
prayer  for  him.  Pie  was  full  of  the  millennium  and  of  the 
missionary  spirit  long  before  the  existence  of  the  "  Missionary 
Herald,"  or  of  the  American  Board,  or  of  the  "  Panoplist " 
even,  —  and  even  before  the  Connecticut  Missionary  Society 
sent  their  missionaries  away  off  to  the  distant  regions  of 
Ohio,  praying  daily  for  both  Jews  and  Gentiles,  saying  with 
the  Psalmist,  "  Let  the  people  praise  thee,  O  God ;  let  the 
people  praise  thee,  all  of  them," —  and  like  his  uncle,  Solomon 
Goodell,  was  ready  and  desirous  to  contribute  something  for 
the  spread  of  the  glorious  Gospel  long  before  he  had  an 
opportunity  for  so  doing. 

It  must  now  be  twenty-five  or  twenty-six  years  since  I 
left  my  studies  at  Andover  for  a  few  weeks,  and  rode  through 
the  country  to  obtain  evidence  that  he  was  a  soldier  of  the 
Revolution.  And  since  that  time  he  has  lived  on  his  pension 
of  ninety -six  dollars  a  year.  And  wrho  knows  but  He  "  who 
keepeth  covenant  and  mercy  "  had  special  reference  to  him 
when  he  stirred  up  Congress  to  pass  that  pension  law.  He 
served  three  years  in  the  Revolutionary  war;  and  I  was 
struck  with  the  fact  you  communicated,  of  its  being  early  on 
the  morning  of  the  memorable  fourth  of  July,  amidst  the 
roaring  of  cannon,  that  he  slept  in  peace.  He  is  gone. 
And,  though  to  his  children  he  left  no  inheritance,  no,  not 
so  much  as  one  cent,  yet,  in  his  godly  example  and  prayers, 
he  has  left  them  the  very  richest  legacy  which  any  father 
ever  bequeathed  his  children.  And  I  have  often  thought 
that  should  Jehovah  address  us,  as  He  did  His  people  of  old, 
instead  of  calling  Himself  the  God  of  Abraham  and  of  Isaac 
and  of  Jacob,  He  would  call  Himself  the  God  of  our  father. 
Oh,  how  little  our  good  neighbors,  who  showed  such  kindness 
"  to  the  living  and  to  the  dead"  of  our  family  knew  what  a 
rich  father  we  had ! 

"  My  boast  is  not  that  I  deduce  my  birtn 

From  loins  enthroned  and  rulers  of  the  earth  j 
But  higher  far  my  proud  pretensions  rise,  — 
The  son  of  parents  passed  into  the  skies." 

Yes,  it  is  a  rare  privilege  we  have  all  enjoyed  in  being  de 
scended  from  such  parents.  They  were  the  children  of  the 
great  King.  They  belonged  to  the  royal  family.  Their 
names  were  on  the  catalogue  of  princes,  and  of  those  that 
live  for  ever.  They  daily  walked  abroad  with  the  conscious 
1* 


10  FORTY   YEARS  IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

dignity  of  being  heirs  to  a  great  estate,  even  an  incorruptible 
inheritance.  And  they  have  now  gone  to  sit  down  with 
Christ  on  His  throne.  "  And  they  shall  hunger  no  more, 
neither  shall  they  thirst  any  more."  I  love  to  look  back 
and  see  how,  with  no  ambitious  aspirings  after  worldly  gain 
or  pleasure  or  honor,  they  humbly  walked  with  God ;  how 
from  day  to  day  they  deliberately  sought,  both  for  them 
selves  and  for  their  children,  first  of  all  "  the  kingdom  of 
God  and  His  righteousness  ; "  and  how  in  this  scoffing  world 
they  were  so  united  to  Christ  as  apparently  to  have  no  sep 
arate  interest  or  existence,  —  it  not  being  so  much  "  they  that 
lived,  as  Christ  living  in  them." 

It  was  doubtless  a  mercy  to  them  that  they  never  at  any 
time  possessed  much  of  this  world's  goods,  and  that  through 
much  illness  in  the  family  they  were  at  times  reduced  to 
great  straits ;  and  a  mercy  to  us,  that  we  had  to  bear  the 
yoke  in  our  youth,  and  often  to  make  our  meal  of  salt  and 
potatoes ;  and  I  have  often  found  it  in  my  heart  to  bless 
God  for  all  His  dealings  with  them  and  with  us.  And  oh, 
may  neither  we  nor  our  children  ever  be  left  unchastised 
and  uncorrected  by  Him !  Let  us  choose  rather  to  receive 
for  our  profit  those  chastenings,  however  severe,  whereof  all 
the  sons  of  God  are  partakers.  And  why,  my  brother, 
should  any  of  us  be  anxious  to  leave  our  children  any  other 
inheritance  than  was  left  to  us  ?  If  we  leave  them  this,  and 
they  avail  themselves  cf  it,  then,  though  we  be  dead,  they 
shall  still  have  a  Father  who  will  provide  for  them,  and  take 
care  of  them,  and  bless  them,  and  make  them  happy  for  ever. 

And  is  our  father  gone,  who  prayed  for  us  so  much? 
Let  us  be  thankful  that  the  great  Intercessor  "  ever  liveth  to 
make  intercession  for  us ; "  and  more  than  ever,  let  us  avail 
ourselves  of  His  mediation  and  atonement,  of  His  grace  and 
strength,  and  of  His  righteousness  and  Spirit ;  and  more  than 
ever,  let  us  now  pray  for  ourselves  and  for  all  our  brothers 
and  sisters.  And  is  our  father  dead  ?  Let  us  arise  and 
give  thanks  to  God  that  good  men  may  die.  Let  us  give 
special  thanks  that  our  father  and  mother  are  no  longer  in 
this  world  of  sin  and  sorrow.  And  let  us  be  more  careful 
than  ever  to  "  be  followers  of  those  who,  through  faith  and 
patience,  are  now  inheriting  the  promises,"  being  sinners 
saved  by  grace  alone. 

Thus  prays  your  ever  affectionate  brother, 

WILLIAM. 


SOLOMON   GOODELL.  11 

In  his  Reminiscences  he  gives  the  following  account  of  the 
earlier  generations  of  his  family :  — 

"  My  father's  father  died  young,  leaving  a  wife  and  three 
sons.  His  father  had  four  brothers,  whom  I  used  occasionally 
to  see,  and  whom  I  always  regarded  as  'mighty  men  of 
valor,'  viz.:  — • 

"  1.  My  great-uncle,  Solomon  Goodell,  who  lived  and  died 
in  Jamaica,  Vt.,  and  who,  fifty  or  more  years  ago,  took  such 
a  wonderful  interest  in  foreign  missions. 

"  Jeremiah  Evarts,  Esq.,  former  Secretary  of  the  A.  B. 
C.  F.  M.,  wrote  the  following  account  of  the  gifts  by  Solomon 
Goodell  to  the  cause  of  missions,  and  adds  that  his  farm, 
which  was  his  only  source  of  income,  did  not  exceed  $1,000 
in  value. 

"  About  the  year  1800,  the  writer  of  these  lines  observed  a 
donation  of  $100  to  the  Connecticut  Missionary  Society,  pub 
lished  in  the  annual  accounts,  as  from  Mr.  Goodell.  Such 
donations  were  at  that  time  very  uncommon  in  this  country, 
and,  in  regard  to  that  society,  nearly  or  quite  unprecedented. 
The  thought  occurred  that  doubtless  some  gentleman  of  inde 
pendent  fortune  had  thought  proper  to  take  up  his  residence  in 
the  interior  of  Vermont,  and  that  he  considered  the  society  just 
named  a  good  channel  for  his  pious  beneficence.  This  con 
clusion  was  strengthened  by  seeing  a  similar  donation  from  the 
same  source,  at  the  return  of  each  successive  year,  for  a  consid 
erable  period. 

"  When  the  American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  began  its 
operations,  Mr.  Goodell  did  not  wait  for  an  agent  to  visit  him, 
but  sent  a  message  (or  came  himself  )  more  than  fifty  miles,  to 
a  member  of  the  board,  saying  that  he  wished  to  subscribe  $500 
for  immediate  use,  and  $1,000  for  the  permanent  fund.  He 
sent  $50  as  earnest-money,  and  said  he  would  forward  the 
remaining  $450  as  soon  as  he  could  raise  that  sum  ;  and  would 
pay  the  interest  annually  upon  the  $1,000,  till  the  principal 
should  be  paid.  This  engagement  he  punctually  complied  with, 
paying  the  interest,  and  just  before  his  death  transferring  notes 
and  bonds  secured  by  mortgages,  which  (including  the  $1,000 
above  mentioned)  amounted  to  $1,708.37  ;  that  is,  a  new  clona- 
tiou  was  made  of  $703.37,  to  which  was  afterwards  added 
anothei  bond  and  mortgage  of  $350. 

"  Before  this  last  transaction  he  had  made  repeated  inter 
mediate  donations.  At  one  time  he  brought  to  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Lyman,  of  Hatfield  (the  member  of  the  board  referred  to),  the 


12  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

sum  of  $465.  After  the  money  was  counted,  Dr.  Lyman  said 
to  him,  '  I  presume,  sir,  you  wish  this  sum  indorsed  upon  your 
note  of  $1,000.'  *  Oh  no,'  was  his  reply, '  I  believe  that  note  is 
good  yet.  This  is  a  separate  matter.'  He  then  expressed  his 
wish  that  the  money  might  be  remitted  towards  repairing  the 
loss  sustained  by  the  Baptist  missionaries  at  Serampore.  He 
regretted  that  he  had  not  been  able  to  make  the  sum  $500  ; 
consoled  himself  with  the  thought  that  he  might  do  it  still  at 
some  period  not  very  distant ;  and  said,  that  if  any  of  the  bank 
notes  proved  less  valuable  than  specie,  he  would  make  up  the 
deficiency. 

"  Mr.  Goodell  had  made  what  he  thought  suitable  provision 
for  his  children,  as  he  passed  through  life.  After  consulting 
his  wife,  he  left  her  such  a  portion  of  his  estate  as  was  satis 
factory  to  her,  gave  several  small  legacies,  and  made  the  board 
his  residuary  legatee.  He  supposed  that  the  property  left  to 
the  board  by  will  would  not  be  less  than  $1,000  ;  but  as  some 
part  of  it  was,  and  still  is  unsalable,  the  exact  amount  cannot 
be  stated. 

"  It  was  this  uncle  who,  having  yet  never  seen  me,  sent 
to  Mr.  Preceptor  Adams,  of  Phillips  Academy,  to  know 
whether  I  was  t  worth  raising  ;  *  and  receiving,  I  suppose,  a 
somewhat  favorable  answer,  he  soon  after  sent  me  a  yoke 
of  oxen  to  help  draw  me  over  the  steep  hills  of  learning. 
This  great-uncle  was  excessively  fond  of  the  old  poetry,  and 
(with  his  long  old-fashioned  waistcoat,  buttoned  perhaps  in 
two  places,  with  one  side  reaching  down  much  lower  than  the 
other,  for  he  was  never  able  to  make  a  button  and  a  button 
hole  look  each  other  square  in  the  face)  used  to  sit  and 
repeat  with  royal  emphasis  whole  pages,  I  might  perhaps 
say  books,  of  his  favorite  Milton  or  Young,  —  his  hand, 
when  not  gesticulating,  resting  on  a  table  by  his  side,  on 
which  the  old  Family  Bible,  Baxter,  Flavel,  Henry's  Com 
mentary,  Watts,  &c.,  lay,  if  not  in  glorious,  confusion,  yet 
without  much  order ;  and  his  gentle  wife,  who  never  wrote 
poetry,  and  was  never  able  to  tell  the  difference  between 
verse  which  was  blank  and  that  which  was  not  blank,  would 
sit,  as  we  may  suppose  Job's  wife  did,  in  her  little  corner, 
mending  or  darning,  and,  I  doubt  not,  some  times  praying 
that  her  learned  husband  might  be  as  meek  as  he  was  great. 


HIS   GREAT-UNCLES.  13 

"  2.  My  great-uncle,  the  Rev.  David  Goodall,  who  was 
once  settled  over  a  Congregational  Church  in  Massachusetts, 
and  afterwards  removed  to  Littleton,  N.  H.,  on  the  Connecti 
cut  River,  some  sixty  miles  North  of  Dartmouth  College. 

"  3.  My  great-uncle,  Deacon  Abner  Goodale,  who  lived 
in  Marlborough,  Mass.,  at  the  old  Puritan  homestead,  where 
all  these  Goodells,  Goodalls,  and  Goodales  were  born  and 
learned  the  Assembly's  Catechism. 

"4.  My  great-uncle,  Judge  Job  Goodell,  Goodale,  or 
Goodall  (for  I  do  not  remember  how  he  spelled  the  name), 
who  died  at  Bernardstown,  Mass.,  though  not  more  ortho 
dox  or  intelligent,  was  more  polished  than  his  three  noble 
brothers.  I  have  attended  prayer-meetings  with  him  in 
Marlborough,  where  he  exhorted  like  a  judge  and  prayed 
like  the  publican. 

"  These  four  noble  brothers  had  three  or  more  sisters, 
Miriam,  and  so  on,  each  of  whom  possessed  as  marked  a 
character  as  David's  sister  Zeruiah  appeared  to  possess, 
whose  big  rebellious  boys  often  drew  from  King  David  the 
exclamation,  '  O  ye  sons  of  Zeruiah ! '  They  were  strong- 
minded  women  all  of  them.  .  .  .  But  those  four  brothers 
stood  out  in  bold  relief  among  all  their  contemporaries. 
Instead  of  being  'behind  the  times/  they  were  always  in 
advance,  and  were  distinguished  for  their  love  of  learning, 
and  for  their  sympathy  with  every  great  and  benevolent 
object.  They  and  their  families  all  had  a  great  deal  of 
uncommon  sense,  enough,  perhaps,  to  supply  the  want  of 
plain  common  sense,  in  which,  though  not  hy  any  means 
deficient,  they  did  not  so  very  strikingly  abound.  But  all 
those  men  and  women  of  pure  Puritan  blood  have  passed 
away,  and  many  of  their  descendants,  I  am  told,  now  play 
on  the  piano,  eat  their  pudding  at  the  close  instead  of  at  the 
beginning  of  dinner,  keep  Saturday  night  no  longer,  wear 
crinoline  without  stint,  and  imitate  many  other  ways  and 
practices  of  the  Gentiles.  But,  as  we  read  in  the  Book  of 
Chronicles,  '  These  are  ancient  things/ 


14      FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE. 

"  My  father's  father,  I  said,  died  young.  My  good  grand 
mother  afterwards  married  a  Sawyer,  and  raised  up  a  family 
of  mighty  singers  in  Templeton,  —  Uncle  John,  Uncle  Jotham, 
Uncle  Job,  Aunt  Dinah ;  dear  me !  how  they  used  to  chase 
one  another  up  and  down  those  fugue  tunes  till  they  got 
safely  out  of  the  jangle,  and  found  themselves,  unexpectedly 
to  others  if  not  to  themselves,  all  safe  home  at  last.  My 
good  grandfather  and  grandmother  Sawyer  lived  to  a 
great  age,  and  she  was  blind  many  years  before  her  death. 
Though  they  lived  more  than  three  miles  from  church,  they 
were  always  there  in  season,  however  severe  the  cold,  deep 
the  snow,  or  pouring  the  rain  ;  and  on  their  return  home  they 
never  failed  to  find  the  baked  pork  and  beans,  with  the 
orthodox  pudding,  warm  from  the  oven,  where  they  had 
been  religiously  deposited  twenty -four  hours  before. 

"  In  looking  back  to  the  days  of  my  boyhood,  few  scenes 
come  up  so  vividly  to  my  mind  as  those  connected  with  our 
Sabbath  days  and  our  going  to  church.  Although  we  lived 
three  miles  from  the  house  of  God,  we  were  never  absent 
on  the  Sabbath  day.  Be  it  wet  or  dry,  cold  or  hot,  we  were 
always  there,  and  the  more  tempestuous  the  weather,  the 
earlier  we  were  found  in  our  places.  The  old,  puritanical- 
looking  horse  seemed  to  know  as  well  as  the  most  pious  of 
us  that  it  was  holy  time,  and  he  stood  at  the  door  saddled 
and  bridled,  with  his  head  bowed  reverently  down,  as  if 
in  solemn  meditation  upon  the  duties  he  was  expected  to 
perform.  My  father,  with  one  of  the  children  in  his  arms, 
rode  before ;  my  mother  sat  behind  him  on  a  pillion,  and 
carried  one  of  the  children  in  her  arms,  and  still  another 
child  rode  behind,  clinging  as  closely  to  her  as  she  did  to  her 
husband.  I  recollect  on  one  occasion  in  ascending  a  steep, 
sandy  hill  the  girth  of  the  saddle  gave  way,  and  there  was 
an  avalanche  of  the  whole  load,  father  and  mother  and  three 
children,  with  saddle  and  pillion,  over  the  horse's  tail,  plump 
into  a  sand-bank.  The  old  rheumatic  horse  never  seemed 
amazed  at  any  thing  that  might  happen,  but  this  time  he 


A   PURITAN   SABBATH.  15 

simply  opened  his  large  eyes  wider  than  usual,  and,  wheeling 
half  round,  looked  to  see  whether  he  could  help  us  in  any 
way.  Had  he  taken  it  into  his  head  on  that  occasion  to 
use  his  heels  instead  of  his  eyes,  that  avalanche  might  have 
proved  as  fatal  to  us  as  those  more  terrible  to  the  dwellers 
and  travellers  among  the  Alps. 

"  After  reaching  home  on  Sabbath  afternoon,  and  telling 
where  the  text  was  found,  we  sat  down  to  our  dinner,  of 
baked  pork  and  beans,  which  had  been  put  into  the  oven 
the  day  previous,  and  left  there  overnight.  When  dinner 
was  over,  we  were  all  summoned  to  the  Assembly's  Cate 
chism,  which  we  were  expected  to  repeat  verbatim  et  literatim, 
from  '  What  is  the  chief  end  of  man  ? '  to  the  end  of  the 
primer.  Our  father  asked  the  questions  with  book  in  hand, 
and  we  were  expected  to  answer  as  promptly  without  the 
book  as  he  asked  with  it.  And,  indeed,  we  were  so  familiar 
with  the  Catechism,  that  we  could  not  only  repeat  the  Ten 
Commandments,  with  all  that  was  required,  and  all  that  was 
forbidden,  together  with  the  reasons  annexed,  but  would 
also  answer  the  three  great  questions,  What  is  justification  ? 
adoption?  and  sanctification ?  and  tell  also  'the  several 
benefits  which  in  this  life  do  either  accompany  or  flow  from 
them.'  When  these  recitations  were  ended,  we  had  family 
prayers,  and  by  that  time  we  were  sufficiently  fatigued  to 
retire  to  our  slumbers. 

"  In  those  days  there  were  no  Sabbath  schools.  Indeed, 
I  never  heard  of  such  an  institution  till  I  was  more  than 
twenty  years  old.  Professor  Bradbury's  beautiful  songs 
had  then  no  existence.  With  what  joy  should  we  have 
hailed  them  !  Our  good  old  minister,  the  Rev.  Ebenezer 
Sparhawk,  though  an  Arminian,  used  to  appoint  two  days 
in  the  year,  one  in  the  spring  and  the  other  in  the  autumn, 
for  all  the  children  of  his  congregation  to  assemble  at  church, 
on  some  week-day,  and  repeat  to  him  the  Lord's  Prayer  and 
the  Catechism.  These  appointments  were  made,  it  may  be, 
quite  as  much  for  the  parents  as  for  the  children,  that  they 


16  FORTY   YEARS  IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

might  have  the  duty  of  catechising  their  children  kept  con 
stantly  before  their  minds.  This  Catechism  is  now  pretty 
much  superseded  by  the  Sabbath  school;  and  although  I 
should  be  slow  to  recommend  a  return  from  the  Sabbath 
school  to  the  Catechism,  yet  might  not  this  Catechism  be 
included  in  the  Sabbath  school,  and  be  made  to  form  a  part 
of  its  interesting  exercises  ?  In  the  days  of  our  fathers  and 
grandfathers,  that  Catechism  was  certainly  a  wonderful 
institution,  and  the  descendants  of  those  families  that  were 
most  thoroughly  drilled  hi  it  are  now  undeniably  the  very 
bone  and  sinew  of  New  England,  whether  considered  politi 
cally,  socially,  or  religiously. 

"  Mr.  Sparhawk  was  extremely  careful  in  the  performance 
of  all  the  duties  appertaining  to  his  office  as  a  settled  minis 
ter,  such  as  catechising  the  children  twice  a  year,  visiting  the 
sick  and  afflicted,  preaching  on  the  Sabbath,  and  once  on  the 
Friday  preceding  the  communion,  three  times  a  year ;  but 
prayer-meetings  and  revivals  being  considered  pure  innova 
tions,  never  met  with  favor  in  his  eyes.  Indeed,  such  new 
fangled  notions  were  hardly  known  to  his  people.  Not  one 
of  his  deacons,  although  all  of  them  were  exemplary  men, 
ever  opened  his  lips  in  public  to  offer  public  prayer  or  give 
a  word  of  exhortation  !  On  the  Sabbath  he  preached  under 
a  large  sounding-board,  and  some  of  the  youthful  and  the 
thoughtless  members  of  his  congregation  watched  with  tremb 
ling  anxiety,  lest  it  might  one  day  fall  on  his  head  and  crush 
him.  But  in  spite  of  their  fears  he  died  in  his  bed,  in  a 
good  old  age,  greatly  respected  and  universally  lamented. 
His  numerous  descendants  are  among  the  most  intelligent 
and  excellent  men  and  women  of  the  land. 

"  After  Mr.  Sparhawk's  death  it  seemed  much  easier  for 
his  people  to  slide  down  into  Unitarianism  than  to  rise  up 
to  what  was  considered  more  evangelical  and  orthodox.  His 
successor,  the  Rev.  Charles  Wellington  (afterward  D.D.), 
was  equally  exemplary  in  life,  but  still  more  lax  in  doctrine. 
Though  not  at  first  an  avowed  Unitarian,  he  was  at  length 


THE   PASTORS.  17 

known  to  be  such.  Like  his  predecessor,  he  was  greatly  and 
deservedly  respected  in  the  town,  and  much  beloved  by  all 
who  knew  him.  Of  him  I  have  many  very  pleasant  recol 
lections  ;  for  although  knowing  that  my  father's  family  had 
no  sympathy  with  his  creed,  he  always  treated  us  with  great 
kindness,  and  did  what  he  could  to  help  and  encourage  me 
in  my  studies.  In  his  day  the  more  evangelical  portion  of 
the  church  seceded,  built  a  new  place  of  worship  for  them 
selves,  and  called  the  Rev.  Lewis  Sabine  to  be  their  pastor. 
With  him  and  his  church  I  always  feel  at  home,  for  they 
have  full  sympathy  with  missions,  with  revivals,  and  with 
all  those  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  denominated  Evangelical. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Wellington  had,  several  years  before  his 
death,  a  colleague,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Adams,  who  is  now  his  suc 
cessor,  and  who,  like  himself,  is  a  pleasant  and  exemplary 
man.  I  greatly  revere  the  memory  of  both  Mr.  Sparhawk 
and  Mr.  Wellington,  and  of  their  deacons,  and  of  many  others 
in  my  native  town.  May  their  children  and  their  children's 
children  be  blessed  of  the  Lord  who  made  heaven  and  earth. 
"  Let  me  not  here  omit  to  mention  the  Baptist  minister, 
the  Rev.  Elisha  Andrews,  and  his  pleasant  family.  His 
elder  children  were  just  about  the  ages  with  myself  and 
some  of  my  sisters.  They  were  fine  scholars,  and  our  two 
families  had  much  delightful  intercourse.  Their  father  was 
an  excellent  townsman,  a  good  neighbor,  and  an  earnest, 
judicious  preacher.  His  prayer-meetings  were  to  my  father's 
family  like  oases  in  the  desert.  As  the  Baptist  meeting 
house  was  much  nearer  than  the  Congregational,  we  were 
not  unfrequently  found  there  on  the  Sabbath ;  and  had  it  not 
been  for  disowning  the  Abrahamic  covenant  confirmed  in 
Christ,  and  especially  had  it  not  been  for  close  communion, 
which  was  strictly  adhered  to  as  an  article  of  faith,  some  of 
us  might  have  joined  that  church,  for  many  of  its  members 
were  earnest  Christian  men  and  women,  loving  the  Bible, 
and  speaking  often  one  to  another  on  the  great  subjects 
which  concern  our  common  salvation. 


18  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

"  Among  the  reminiscences  of  the  years  when  I  was  yet  a 
child  in  my  father's  house,  there  are  some  incidents  connected 
with  the  social  habits  of  that  period  which,  in  these  days  of 
temperance,  come  up  with  a  peculiar  arid  somewhat  of  a 
ludicrous  force  to  my  mind.  More  than  threescore  years 
ago,  when  punch,  egg-nog,  and  a  mixture  of  molasses  and 
rum,  called  black-strap,  flowed  almost  as  freely  through  the 
sweet  vales  of  New  England  as  pure  cold  water  does  now, 
I  remember  a  good  old  man,  who,  like  my  own  orthodox 
parents,  believed  in  the  Assembly's  Catechism,  together  with 
'  the  reasons  annexed '  to  the  whole  ten  commandments,  and 
who  usually  came  once  or  twice  a  year  to  confer  with  them 
on  the  prophecies  in  general,  and  the  millennium  in  particu 
lar  ;  and  to  converse  also  about  those  devoted  missionaries 
who  had  recently  taken  their  lives  in  their  hand,  and  gone  to 
the  desolate  regions  of  Ohio  to  preach  to  those  benighted  peo 
ple.  On  those  occasions  all  servile  labor  was  suspended,  and 
we  children  sat  down  with  eyes  and  ears  opened  wide  ;  yea,  and 
mouths  too,  for  we  hardly  dared  breathe  in  the  usual  way, 
lest  we  should  lose  a  word. 

"  At  the  close  of  their  long  and  interesting  session,  my 
good  father  always  rose  with  the  greatest  possible  serious 
ness  in  his  whole  demeanor  and  made  the  good  man  a  glass 
of  toddy,  if  it  were  summer,  or  a  mug  of  flip,  in  winter,  the 
sugar  at  the  bottom  being  invariably  reserved  for  the  longing 
palates  of  us  little  ones.  Altogether,  the  old  folks  seemed 
to  have  a  grand  good  time,  and  we  young  ones  were  easily 
persuaded  to  believe  that  there  was  somehow,  and  in  some 
way,  '  a  good  time  coming '  for  us. 

"  It  happened  one  day  we  saw  the  good  man's  horse  (and 
we  knew  his  horse,  with  the  white  spot  in  his  forehead, 
almost  as  well  as  we  knew  the  good  man  himself)  turning 
his  head  towards  the  door  of  our  house.  Our  parents  were 
absent,  and,  as  they  would  not  be  at  home  till  towards  even 
ing,  I  felt  that  it  became  me,  as  the  oldest  son  of  the  family, 
to  be  treating  the  servant  of  the  Lord  with  all  due  respect. 


SOCIAL   CUSTOMS.  19 

And,  indeed,  we  all  of  us  hastened  to  put  every  thing  in 
readiness  to  give  him  such  an  honorable  reception  that  we 
need  have  no  fear  that  the  bears  would  come  out  of  the  wood, 
a  little  to  the  east  of  our  house,  to  devour  us,  as  they  once 
came  out  upon  and  tore  in  pieces  the  unmannerly  children 
in  good  Elisha's  degenerate  days. 

"At  the  proper  time,  therefore,  I  retired  to  make  the 
good  man  a  glass  of  toddy.  On  tasting  it  I  thought  it  too 
strong,  and  put  in  more  water,  with  sugar  to  match.  Tasting 
it  again,  I  thought  it  was  too  weak  and  too  sweet;  and, 
therefore,  made  another  change,  and  still  another.  As  it 
still  did  not  suit  my  taste,  and  as  there  was  no  room  left  in 
that  glass  for  further  experiments,  I  poured  the  whole  out 
into  a  more  capacious  tumbler,  and  then  went  on  changing 
and  tasting,  and  tasting  and  changing,  till  I  quite  lost  the 
idea  how  it  ought  to  taste.  And,  finally,  beginning  to  pour 
some  of  it  into  a  large  bowl,  I  found  I  must  have  mixed 
almost  enough  for  a  '  raising ; '  at  least  quite  enough  for  six 
men,  instead  of  one.  With  all  due  reverence,  I  then  carried 
a  tumblerful  and  presented  it  to  him.  lie  took  it  and 
drank  off  a  part  of  it,  and,  patting  my  head,  said  I  had  been 
too  bountiful.  He  then  lifted  up  his  hands  and  gave  us  all 
his  blessing,  with  plenty  of  good  advice,  and  adding  that  I 
had  better  put  the  remainder  aside  till  my  father  came  home, 
he  mounted  his  nag  and  rode  off. 

"  After  he  had  gone,  I  thought  within  myself,  Now,  what 
shall  we  do  with  all  this  toddy ;  for  we  should  be  ashamed  to 
have  our  parents  come  home  and  see  it,  and  to  throw  any  of 
the  *  good  creature '  away  would  be  quite  wicked.  So,  taking 
counsel  with  my  brothers  and  sisters,  all  but  one  younger 
than  myself,  we  sat  down,  in  high  earnest,  to  see  what  we 
could  do  towards  reducing  the  fearful  amount.  And  we 
drank  and  drank  till  our  heads  turned  round.  I  presume 
the  children  in  our  Sabbath  schools  can,  almost  any  of  them, 
tell  us  of  a  more  excellent  way  of  honoring  these  servants 
of  the  Most  High  God ;  but  those  were  days  of  darkness. 


20  FORTY  YEARS  IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

As  this  was  the  first  time,  so  I  am  happy  to  add  it  was  the 
last  time,  I  ever  made  this  vile  compound  for  such  a  holy 
purpose. 

"  Another  scene,  illustrating  the  ignorance  of  those  times 
on  the  subject  of  temperance,  I  well  remember.  A  very 
godly  minister,  who  lived  in  an  adjoining  town,  had  occasion 
to  pass  by  my  father's  door  several  times  a  year,  and  as  in 
those  days  of  rank  Arminianism  my  father  was  almost  the 
only  one  on  that  road  who  fully  sympathized  with  the  good 
man  in  the  doctrines  he  preached,  and  as  our  house  was 
about  the  half-way  house  for  him,  he  often  stopped  and 
passed  an  hour  with  us.  My  mother  was  for  a  long  time  an 
invalid.  And  one  day  when  the  good  man  called,  our  family 
physician  happened  in.  Very  soon,  before  the  door  of  the 
house,  where  I  was  sitting,  I  heard  him  consult  our  physician 
on  the  following  very  difficult  problem.  (It  should  here  be 
premised  that  both  the  physician  and  the  minister  were  above 
reproach,  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  having  ever  given 
occasion  to  be  suspected  of  a  too  free  use  of  the  glass.)  The 
minister  said  he  had  to  be  around  among  the  people  every 
day,  visiting  the  sick  and  dying ;  directing  inquiring  minds 
to  Christ,  and  comforting  mourners ;  praying  with  the  aged 
and  infirm,  and  explaining  to  the  simple-minded  those  things 
that  were  difficult  to  be  understood,  &c. ;  that  wherever 
he  went,  liquor  under  some  form  and  name,  was  offered  him 
to  drink,  which,  in  order  not  to  give  offence,  or  be  considered 
guilty  of  a  breach  of  good  manners,  he  felt  bound  to  take. 
Moreover,  that,  after  calling  at  a  number  of  places,  his  head 
invariably  became  affected,  and  he  felt  himself  in  danger  of 
saying  or  doing  some  foolish  thing.  Would  the  good  doctor, 
therefore,  prescribe  something  for  him  to  take,  or  give  him 
suitable  advice  as  to  what  he  should  do  in  this  emergency. 

"I  remember  just  where  the  good  minister  stood,  and 
how  he  looked.  I  remember  also  just  where  the  good  doc 
tor  stood,  and  how  he  looked.  He  had  in  his  hand  a  cane, 
with  the  end  of  which  he  kept  digging  in  the  ground ;  and 


A  DOCTOR'S  ADYICE.  21 

the  more  earnestly  he  was  questioned,  the  more  earnestly 
and  the  deeper  he  dug.  (And  what  more  natural  than  that 
our  Saviour,  under  similar  circumstances,  should  '  stoop  down 
and  write  on  the  ground.')  At  length  he  straightened  him 
self  up,  and,  standing  before  his  questioner  with  his  arms 
crossed,  he  uttered  the  following  advice,  viz.,  that,  after  he 
had  called  at  several  places,  and  had  begun  to  feel  the  effects 
of  the  liquor  taken,  he  should  go  straight  home,  while  he 
was  yet  able  to  walk,  and,  entering  at  once  into  his  study, 
should  sit  there  in  silence  and  solitude,  till  the  dizziness 
should  pass  away,  and  then,  taking  some  food  with  a  cup  of 
tea,  he  could  go  out  without  fear  to  finish  his  pastoral  visits. 
The  idea  of  total  abstinence  from  intoxicating  beverages 
seems  not  to  have  entered  the  mind  of  either  the  one  or  the 
other.  That  he  must  drink  was  taken  for  granted,  if  he 
would  not  be  guilty  of  an  unpardonable  offence.  The  only 
thing  was  to  drink  without  feeling  the  effects  of  it ;  and  on 
this  point  the  good  physician  was  sadly  perplexed.  In  those 
days  everybody  drank,  old  and  young,  rich  and  poor,  male 
and  female  ;  and  our  whole  country  seemed  rapidly  descend 
ing  on  the  steep  and  slippery  side  of  the  hill  towards  ruin. 
But  New  England  at  length  arose  in  the  greatness  of  her 
strength,  and,  in  the  firmness  of  her  principles,  signed  the 
temperance  pledge  ;  '  and  the  land  had  rest  for  forty  years.'  " 


22  FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 


CHAPTER    II. 

AT  what  period  "the  great  change"  in  the  subject  of 
these  memoirs  took  place,  no  one,  not  even  he  him 
self,  knew ;  for,  notwithstanding  the  vivacity  of  his  nature 
and  his  sparkling  humor  (traits  which  characterized  him  from 
his  earliest  years  to  the  day  of  his  death),  there  was  ever 
a  vein  of  seriousness  as  strongly  marked,  and  a  strict  con 
scientiousness,  which  even  in  his  boyhood  seemed  that  of 
the  true  Christian.  A  revival  in  his  native  town  the  early 
part  of  the  year  1811  was  the  occasion  of  his  publicly 
declaring  himself  on  the  Lord's  side ;  but  even  then  he 
did  not  seem  to  become  fully  awake  to  the  great  ends  of  a 
Christian  life.  It  was  not  "until  he  was  brought  in  contact 
with  educated  minds  devoted  to  the  service  of  the  Redeemer 
that  he  began  to  exhibit  that  consecration  of  spirit  which 
so  signally  marked  his  subsequent  career.  This  will  appear 
as  we  continue  his  Reminiscences. 

"You  will  naturally  infer  from  what  I  have  written 
that  my  father's  circumstances  were  none  of  the  best.  It 
was  even  so.  But  he  had  seen  better  days.  I  remember 
when  he  owned  a  hundred  acres  of  land  without  any  incum- 
brarice  upon  it,  well  fenced  and  well  stocked.  He  owed 
no  man  any  thing,  and  had  money  at  interest.  But  he  was 
laid  low  one  winter  with  lung  fever,  arid  for  more  than  a 
year  was  unable  to  attend  to  his  farm.  Before  his  recovery 
my  mother  had  a  serious  illness,  and  remained  an  invalid 
the  rest  of  her  days.  The  doctor's  bills  were  heavy,  and 
the  loss  he  sustained  by  being  unable  to  attend  to  his  farm 
was  still  heavier.  His  affairs  thus  became  so  involved  that 
he  was  never  able  to  extricate  himself  from  the  embarrass 
ment. 


PHILLIPS    ACADEMY.  23 

"It  had  been  long  seen  and  felt  at  home  that, being  feeble 
from  my  youth,  I  could  never  obtain  a  livelihood  in  any 
of  the  ordinary  ways  of  manual  labor ;  but  it  was  thought 
possible  I  might  at  length  be  able  to  teach  small  children 
their  A-B-Abs ;  for  I  could  read  with  fluency,  and  my 
memory  was  so  retentive  that  I  readily  learned  any  thing 
by  heart.  Though  I  was  a  professor  of  religion,  yet,  on 
looking  back  from  this  distance  of  time,  it  does  riot  appear 
that  a  supreme  desire  to  preach  the  Gospel  had  yet  taken 
possession  of  my  heart.  Of  my  father's  heart,  however, 
it  had  taken  full  possession,  and,  with  that  view,  he  encour 
aged  my  attempting  to  get  an  education.  But  he  could 
not  furnish  me  with  any  means,  and  there  were  at  that  time 
no  education  societies. 

"  At  length  we  heard  of  Phillips  Academy,  where  pious 
and  promising  students  sometimes  received  pecuniary  assist 
ance  in  prosecuting  their  studies,  and  hope  now  sprung  up 
in  my  mind  that  I  might  one  day  become  a  preacher  of  the 
Gospel.  I,  therefore,  made  a  journey  to  Andover,  walking 
and  riding  by  turns,  and  presented  myself  before  the  great 
preceptor,  John  Adams,  Esq.,  afterwards  honored  by  Yale 
College  with  the  title  of  LL.D.  I  learned  from  him  that 
there  was  a  charity  fund,  but  that  more  than  twice  as  many 
as  could  be  received  had  been  long  waiting  to  enjoy  its 
privileges.  Mr.  Adams  advised  me  to  come  to  Andover 
at  the  commencement  of  the  next  quarter,  encouraging  me 
to  expect  that  my  tuition  would  be  provided  for;  but  I 
must  be  prepared  to  bear  the  whole  expense  of  my  educa 
tion  up  to  the  time  when  there  should  be  a  vacancy  in  the 
charity  fund.  I  turned  my  steps  homeward,  footing  it  the 
whole  distance,  sixty  miles,  with  a  heavy  heart,  reaching 
my  father's  house,  foot-sore  and  weary,  on  the  third  day 
after  leaving  Andover. 

"  From  the  time  of  my  return  from  Andover  all  our 
thoughts  were  bent  on  the  great  question  of  raising  funds 
to  meet  the  necessary  expenses  for  one  quarter.  On  the 


24  FORTY  YEARS   IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

one  hand,  poverty  so  stared  us  in  the  face  as  to  look  us  out 
of  countenance  wherever  we  turned  our  eyes  ;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  desire  and  the  necessity  of  my  trying  to  get 
an  education  rose  up  before  me  like  the  image  in  Nebuchad 
nezzar's  dream,  with  all  its  mighty  proportions.  And  so 
we  thought  and  thought ;  but  the  more  we  thought  the  more 
we  knew  not  what  to  think.  And  we  finally  began  to 
think  less  and  pray  more ;  and  thus  we  continued  till  it 
was  found  I  must  return  to  Andover,  in  order  to  be  found 
there  at  the  commencement  of  the  quarter.  So,  without 
money  and  without  credit,  and  without  any  plan  ;  and  with 
no  thoughts  but  the  most  confused ;  and  with  no  prayers 
except  ejaculations,  —  your  father  strapped  on  his  trunk,  as 
though  he  intended  this  to  be  his  final  departure,  and  turned 
his  face  towards  the  '  Land  of  Promise,'  —  small  promise, 
indeed,  though  even  this  was  little  better  than  'hoping 
against  hope.'  In  this  trunk  were  all  his  books  and  clothes, 
—  indeed,  all  his  worldly  effects.  Its  lower  edge  pressed 
hard  against  the  small  of  his  back,  to  his  great  annoyance 
at  the  time,  and  to  the  permanent  injury  of  this  feeblest 
part  of  his  very  feeble  frame  in  subsequent  years.  In  many 
of  the  towns  through  which  he  passed  boys  would  hoot  after 
him  in  the  street,  and,  with  an  air  of  proud  superiority, 
ask  if  he  had  in  his  trunk  a  monkey  or  an  anaconda  to 
exhibit.  But,  as  he  had  no  strength  or  courage  to  spare 
for  discussion,  his  replies  were  always  faint  and  few ;  and, 
in  order  not  to  take  any  extra  steps,  he  seldom  passed  from 
one  side  of  the  street  to  the  other,  but  kept  straight  on, 
in  the  middle  of  the  road,  till  his  feet  at  length  stood  on 
that  sacred  hill  whither  all  his  thoughts  and  expectations 
had  been  for  a  long  time  turning  with  anxiety,  but  with 
fond  desire.* 

*  This  trunk  was  destroyed  in  the  great  fire  at  Constantinople  in 
1831.  In  one  of  his  letters  written  at  the  time  of  the  fire  lie  says  : 
"  The  celebrated  trunk,  concerning  which  you  made  inquiry,  and 
which  I  intended  to  leave  as  a  rich  legacy  to  my  children,  was  thrown 


BOARDING   PLACE.  25 

"  Here  a  new  trial  awaited  me.  For  the  protection  of 
the  students,  the  trustees  had  adopted  a  rule  that  the  stu 
dents  should  board  only  in  such  families  as  they  had  licensed 
for  this  purpose.  Mr.  Adams  gave  me  the  names  of  some 
half  dozen  or  more,  and,  leaving  my  trunk  in  his  entry,  I 
went  forth  to  make  application  for  board  and  lodging ;  but 
not  one  of  them  would  receive  me,  the  security  I  had  to 
offer  appearing  to  them  very  much  like  that  which  the 
Turks  offer  when  they  simply  say  '  Allah  Kareemj  i.e., 
1  God  is  merciful.'  I  got  another  list  of  names,  and  then 
another,  until  I  had  visited  every  house  in  town  that  was 
licensed,  and  no  one  would  take  me  in.  I  returned  to  Mr. 
Adams's  house,  and  could  not  refrain  from  weeping.  At 
length  I  determined  to  take  matters  into  my  own  hands,  and, 
slipping  out  unperceived,  I  knocked  at  the  first  house  that 
I  saw,  and  asked  if  a  poor  student  who  wished  to  enter 
the  Academy  could  find  board  and  lodging  with  them. 
The  woman  of  the  house  answered  in  the  affirmative,  and 
her  husband  confirmed  it,  and  a  bargain  was  soon  struck. 

"Mr.  Hawley,  the  husband,  was  a  poor  shoemaker,  and 
so  very  poor  he  could  not  possibly  lose  any  thing,  for  the 
very  plain  reason  he  had  nothing  to  lose,  and  possibly  he 
might  turn  a  penny.  He  was  a  profane  and  intemperate 
man,  and  some  of  his  apprentices  were  of  very  ungodly 
manners.  Mrs.  Hawley  was  an  earnest  Christian  woman. 
She  had  an  impediment  in  her  speech,  and  could  not  utter 
a  single  sentence  intelligibly  on  ordinary  subjects;  but  on 
the  love  of  God  she  could  speak  with  scarce  any  stammering, 
and  it  was  said  that  in  praying  she  never  stuttered  at  all. 
Certainly,  in  singing  her  sweet  hymns,  no  impediment  could 
ever  be  noticed.  She  did  what  she  could  to  make  my  stay 
comfortable,  and  doubtless  hoped  I  should  bring  the  family 

from  the  window  of  the  upper  story,  and  broken  to  pieces.     I  have 
seen  nothing  of  it  since ;  but  many  of  the  precious  things  contained 
in  it  I  saw  scattered  around  the  garden  of  the  English  palace,  and 
the  fire  licking  them  up  as  it  would  stubble." 
2 


26  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

into  some  state  of  decency  and  order.  He,  I  doubt  not, 
was  pleased  to  have  what  he  would  call  the  aristocratic 
and  absolutely  arbitrary  rules  of  the  trustees  trampled 
under  foot.  And  Mr.  Adams  was  evidently  disposed  to 
wink  at  my  being  found  in  such  an  unsuitable  place,  and  to 
give  me  a  chance  of  finding  a  better  one  for  myself.  On 
my  return  from  Dartmouth  College,  four  years  afterward, 
to  Andover  Seminary,  I  found  Mr.  Hawley  low  with  con 
sumption.  I  often  visited  him  and  prayed  with  him,  and 
there  was  reason  to  hope  that  before  his  death  he  had 
become  a  new  man. 

"  Having,  as  you  perceived,  secured  a  boarding-place, 
next  morning  I  stood  before  the  desk  of  the  great  Pre 
ceptor,  and  had  my  seat  assigned  me,  in  which  it  was 
expected  I  should  always  be  found  in  study  hours.  My 
first  lesson  in  Latin  grammar,  which  I  was  to  commit  to 
memory,  Mr.  Adams  also  marked  out  for  me. 

"  After  some  hours  he  called  me  up  to  recite,  when  it  was 
found  not  only  that  I  had  learned  all  that  was  printed  in 
large  type,  which  students  were  expected  to  learn,  but  that 
I  had  committed  to  memory  all  that  was  in  Italics,  though 
only  designed  to  be  read  over,  and  not  recited ;  and,  moreover, 
that  I  had  gone  over  iii  this  perfect  manner  more  pages 
than  he  had  marked  out  for  me.  Mr.  Adams  now  opened 
his  eyes  wide,  and  looked  at  me  from  another  stand-point, 
to  see  of  what  stuff  I  was  really  made.*  And  I  began  to 

*  In  a  letter  which  John  Adams,  LL.D.  wrote  many  years  after 
ward  to  his  son,  Rev.  William  Adams,  D.D.,  he  makes  mention  of 
this  first  recitation  in  the  Latin  grammar:  — 

"  Before  the  close  of  the  morning  session  I  called  him  (William 
Goodell)  to  recite.  He  repeated  all  the  first  page,  verbatim,  notes 
and  all,  then  the  second  and  the  third,  in  the  same  exact  manner.  I 
said,  'You  must  have  studied  this  before/  He  replied,  'I  never 
saw  a  Latin  grammar  before  you  gave  me  this.'  He  advanced  in 
his  studies  with  great  rapidity  and  accuracy.  He  proved  himself 
an  excellent  scholar,  a  pious  youth,  and  so  obtained  all  the  aid  he 
needed.  He  had  no  more  tears  to  shed  but  those  of  good  humor 
and  gratitude." 


PRECEPTOR   ADAMS.  27 

open  my  own  eyes  wider,  and  to  look  at  him  with  more 
fearlessness  than  I  had  dared  to  feel  before ;  for  he  smiled 
and  wept  by  turns,  and  it  was  plain  that  a  favorable  im 
pression  had  been  made  upon  his  great  mind  and  still  greater 
heart.  I  now  felt  sure  there  was  no  danger  of  my  being 
sent  away  from  that  unlicensed  house,  unless  another  and 
a  better  one  were  provided  for  me. 

"  Mr.  Adams,  at  the  time  I  entered  Phillips  Academy, 
was  in  the  full  strength  of  manhood  and  vigor,  at  the  very 
zenith  of  his  long  and  brilliant  career  as  a  teacher  of  youth. 
His  influence  over  me  was  greater  than  that  of  any  other 
teacher.  I  came  under  his  instruction  at  the  most  plastic 
and  critical  period  of  my  life,  and  I  gave  up  my  whole  being 
to  be  moulded  by  him  as  clay  by  the  hands  of  the  potter. 
Every  thing  he  said  arid  did,  his  example,  his  casual  remarks, 
his  prayers,  all  were  to  me  exceedingly  impressive.  Ando- 
ver  was  at  that  time  blessed  with  such  mighty  men,  men  of 
God,  as  Professor  Stuart,  Professor  Woods,  and  Professor 
Porter,  and  I  often  heard  them  preach ;  but  neither  at  that 
time  nor  in  subsequent  years  did  their  words  fall  on  my  ear 
and  heart  with  such  weight  as  those  of  Mr.  Adams,  during 
all  the  time  I  was  his  pupil.  Many  of  his  remarks  I  wrote 
down,  parts  of  his  prayers  I  remember  to  this  day.  Almost 
every  sentence  he  uttered  seemed  an  aphorism  containing  a 
world  of  meaning.  I  seemed  to  myself  to  have  just  waked 
up  to  a  new  life,  and  to  be  living  in  a  new  world.  And 
even  now,  at  this  distance  of  time,  I  often  lift  up  my  heart 
in  thankfulness  to  God  that  I  was  blessed,  at  such  a  time, 
with  such  a  teacher. 

"  With  Mr.  Adams's  family,  though  knowing  them  all 
by  sight,  I  did  not  then  become  so  well  acquainted  as 
several  years  afterward,  when,  having  finished  my  collegiate 
course,  I  returned  to  Andover  to  pursue  my  theological 
studies.  The  acquaintance  I  then  formed  with  them  all 
was  intimate,  and  to  me  very  pleasant  and  precious.  Never 
shall  I  cease  to  remember  it  with  gratitude." 


28  FORTY   YEARS   IN    THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

To  one  of  the  children  of  his  old  preceptor  he  wrote, 
on  hearing  of  the  death  of  Mrs.  Adams,  in  1830 :  — 

"  When  I  heard  of  the  death  of  your  dear  mother,  I  felt  that 
she  was  indeed  the  mother  of  us  all,  and  that  there  were  those 
in  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe  who  would  mingle  their  tears 
with  yours,  and  who  would  pray  that  the  Lord  would  sanc 
tify  to  you  this  bereavement,  and  pour  consolation  into  your 
blaeding  hearts.  The  brief  Memoir  by  Professor  Stuart,  which 
some  friend  was  kind  enough  to  send  me,  I  read  with  deep 
interest,  and  lent  it  to  others;  and  I  said,  if  her  name  had  not 
been  once  mentioned  in  the  Memoir,  I  should  have  known  to 
whom  the  character  belonged.  I  doubt  not  you  love  to  dwell 
upon  her  virtues,  and  talk  over  the  instances  of  her  humility, 
kindness,  and  benevolence. 

44  How  much  I  would  give  to  sit  down  one  evening  in  your 
quiet  family,  and  talk  over  with  you  all  the  good  things  the 
Lord  hath  done  for  Israel  and  for  you  and  us  since  we  last  met! 
I  am  sure,  after  we  had  talked  a  while,  we  should  say, '  He  hath 
not  dealt  with  us  after  our  sins,  nor  rewarded  us  according 
to  our  iniquities.'  I  would  take  every  one  of  your  children 
up  in  my  arms  and  bless  them  ;  and,  after  I  had  listened  to  the 
story  of  the  Lord's  dealings  with  you  and  with  your  little 
ones,  I  think  I  should  pray  with  a  great  increase  of  fervor  that 
you  might  be  '  the  seed  of  the  blessed  of  the  Lord,  and  your 
offspring  with  you.'  " 

The  Reminiscences  continue  :  — 

"  While  I  was  yet  a  member  of  the  Academy,  Mr.  Adams's 
youngest  son,  William  (now  the  Rev.  Dr.  Adams,  the  elo 
quent  preacher  and  beloved  pastor  of  the  Madison  Square 
Presbyterian  Church,  New  York  City),  entered  the  Academy. 
I  remember,  with  great  vividness,  how  daintily  and  gracefully 
he  stepped  in  with  young  Blanchard  (Rev.  Dr.  Blanchard, 
of  Lowell,  Mass.),  and  presented  his  little  self,  then  six  years 
old,  before  the  desk  of  the  venerable  Principal.  In  those 
days  of  his  childhood,  I  often  carried  the  lively  little  fellow 
on  niy  back  to  school  and  to  other  places  ;  and  I  am  thankful 
to  acknowledge  that,  as  one  good  turn  deserves  another,  I 
am  now,  in  my  second  childhood,  often  helped  by  him  and 
his  worthy  friends  over  some  of  the  steep  and  rugged  places 
always  incident  to  the  decline  of  life. 


CLASSMATES.  29 

"  Just  about  the  time  I  entered  the  Academy,  two  others 
also  entered,  both  of  whom  proved  to  be  remarkably  fine 
scholars.  One  of  them  has  since  been  known  to  the  Chris 
tian  world  as  the  Rev.  Asa  Cumniings,  D.D.,  for  many 
years  editor  of  the  i  Christian  Mirror,'  in  Portland,  Me.,  and 
the  biographer  of  Dr.  Payson ;  and  the  other  was  the  Rev. 
Alva  Woods,  D.D.,  at  one  time  President  of  Transylvania 
University  in  Lexington,  Ky.,  and  afterwards  Professor  in 
Brown  University.  Brother  Cummings  had  rolled  logs  in 
the  densest  forests  of  Maine,  till  his  legs  had  literally  become 
quite  crooked ;  but  his  mind  was  a  diamond  of  the  first  water. 
I  thought  I  had  never  known  a  person  of  so  clear  and  candid 
an  intellect  as  he  appeared  to  have.  My  classmate,  Woods, 
was  the  sou  of  a  Baptist  minister  in  the  Green  Mountains  of 
Vermont,  and  was  nephew  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Woods,  one  of 
the  distinguished  professors  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at 
Andover.  These  two,  together  with  myself,  Mr.  Adams  put 
into  a  class  by  ourselves,  and  he  always  seemed  much  grati 
fied  with  our  conduct  and  our  progress ;  for  no  mark  of  tar 
diness,  of  absence,  or  of  an  imperfect  lesson  was,  it  is  believed, 
ever  placed  against  either  of  our  names.  With  all  prompt 
ness  we  could  answer  any  question  which  would  naturally 
arise  from  our  lessons ;  and  with  all  ease  we  would  decline 
any  noun  in  any  declension,  naming  it  in  every  case,  from 
the  nominative  singular  to  the  ablative  plural,  and  going 
through  the  whole  at  one  breath.  And  then  we  could  go 
backward  through  the  whole  at  another  breath,  naming  the 
word  in  every  case,  from  the  ablative  plural  to  the  nomi 
native  singular.  To  us  this  was  real  fun,  and  to  Mr.  Adams 
it  seemed  real  fun  to  hear  us. 

"  But  the  quarter  was  at  length  drawing  to  a  close,  and  so 
many  were  standing  between  us  and  that  charity  foundation 
to  which  we  three  were  looking  forward,  that  there  appeared 
scarcely  any  hope  of  our  ever  receiving  any  benefit  from  it. 
And  it  was  evidently  becoming  a  subject  of  deep  thought 
and  earnest  discussion  with  Mr.  Adams  and  some  of  the 


30  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

trustees  what  provision  should  be  made  for  us,  without 
diverting  any  of  this  charity  fund  from  its  prescribed  chan 
nels.  A  few  days  before  the  end  of  the  quarter,  Mr.  Adams 
called  us  up,  and,  after  informing  us  how  many  had  been 
waiting  much  longer  than  we  to  receive  the  aid,  told  us  that 
Lieutenant-Governor  Phillips,  of  Boston,  who  was  one  of  the 
trustees,-  and  I  think  one  always  present  at  the  examina 
tions,  had  come  forward,  and,  on  account  of  the  present  great 
disproportion  between  those  funds  and  the  numerous  appli 
cations  for  them,  had  voluntarily  offered  to  bear  our  expenses 
through  one  year.  This  was  to  us  a  great  and  sudden  relief. 
It  was  like  the  year  of  jubilee,  and  we  gave  special  thanks 
to  Him  '  who  remembered  us  in  our  low  estate,  for  His  mercy 
endureth  for  ever/ 

"  Early  in  the  year,  Mr.  Adams  informed  me  that  a  rela 
tive  of  mine  in  Vermont,  on  hearing  that  I  was  at  the  Acad 
emy,  had  sent  word  to  ask  whether  I  was  worth  raising. 
What  answer  Mr.  Adams  made  I  never  inquired,  nor  did  he 
ever  tell  me.  But  the  year  was  not  far  advanced  when  a 
drover,  with  some  scores  of  cattle  for  the  Boston  market, 
knocked  at  the  door  of  the  Academy,  and,  to  the  amusement 
and  wonder  of  the  pupils,  asked  to  see  me.  Mr.  Adams 
beckoned  me  to  go  and  see  what  was  wanted.  Amidst  the 
lowing  of  oxen,  I  went  with  some  trepidation,  when,  lo  and 
behold,  he  turned  over  to  me  a  fine  yoke  of  oxen,  which  he 
said  my  father's  uncle  in  Jamaica,  Vt.,  Solomon  Goodell, 
had  sent,  to  draw  me  up  some  of  the  steep  and  rugged  hills 
of  science.  With  the  oxen  came  the  following  characteristic 
note  addressed  to  Mr.  Adams.  It  was  a  mere  scrap  of  paper, 
carelessly  folded  in  the  form  of  a  letter,  and  containing  the 
following  words :  — 

" '  Sir,  I  send  you  a  pair  of  fat  oxen  for  William  Goodell, 
in  your  school/ 

"  I  immediately  stepped  back  and  asked  permission  to  be 
absent  the  remainder  of  the  day,  telling  Mr.  Adams  I  had 
suddenly  become  possessed  of  some  live  stock,  and '  must  needs 


ENTERING   COLLEGE.  31 

go  and  prove  them.*  I  drove  them  at  once  to  my  lodgings 
and  put  them  into  the  pasture,  but  was  so  much  afraid  some 
body  would  steal  them  I  hardly  dared  take  my  eyes  from 
them,  and  the  very  next  day  I  sold  them  to  a  butcher.  And 
thus  hi  this  my  last  year  at  the  Academy  I  paid  ray  own 
bills, 

"  This  year  would  close  my  preparatory  studies ;  but  to 
what  college  should  I  go  ?  and  how  should  I  be  supported  ? 
My  classmate  Cummings,  having  friends  in  Boston  and  that 
vicinity,  was  going  to  Cambridge.  My  classmate  Woods,  — 
who  was  my  chum  for  one  whole  year,  —  being  a  Baptist, 
would  naturally  go  to  Brown  University.  We  had  in  tlie 
mean  time  become  acquainted  with  Daniel  Temple,  who  en 
tered  the  Academy  soon  after  us.  Although  his  boarding- 
place  was  some  distance  from  ours,  yet,  as  he  had  just  breii 
converted  in  a  powerful  revival  of  religion  and  was  full  of 
faith  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  his  influence  was  felt  far  and 
near.  Mr.  Adams  proposed  to  him  and  to  me  to  go  to 
Dartmouth  College,  saying  that  the  Kimball  Union  Academy 
had  been  recently  established  at  Meriden,  N.  H.,  and  that 
this  Academy  had  funds  to  aid  in  their  studies  those  having 
the  ministry  in  view,  and,  as  there  were  not  students  enough 
to  exhaust  all  the  funds,  the  College  came  in  for  a  share. 
Some  of  the  professors  had  written  Mr.  Adams  on  the  sub 
ject,  promising  to  take  two,  whom  he  should  recommend,  and 
allow  th^m  each  one  hundred  dollars  a  year  for  the  four 
years.  Mr.  Temple  and  myself  thankfully  accepted  the 
proposition,  and  at  once  made  arrangements  to  room  together. 
The  aid  proffered  would  not  indeed  be  sufficient  to  meet  our 
expenses,  but  the  long  winter  vacations  would  enable  us  to 
earn  something  by  keeping  school.  I  entered  Dartmouth 
College  Sept.  24,  1813. 

"  The  one  hundred  dollars  per  annum  allowed  me  from 
the  funds  of  the  Kimball  Union  Academy,  together  with 
what  I  earned  by  teaching,  enabled  me  to  pass  through  col 
lege  with  comfort  to  myself  and  without  being  a  burden  to 


32  FORTY   YEARS  IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

others.  Every  winter  found  me  occupied  in  teaching  school ; 
and  I  was  so  fond  of  the  employment,  and  moreover  the 
opportunity  of  doing  good  appeared  to  me  so  great,  that  I 
would  have  been  willing  to  teach  even  without  compensation. 
The  places  where  I  taught  were  Wardsborough,  Woodstock, 
and  St.  Johnsbury  in  the  State  of  Vermont,  and  Keene 
and  Hanover  in  New  Hampshire.  I  also  taught  a  small 
school  in  a  corner  of  New  Marlborough,  N.  H.,  before  I 
went  to  the  Academy.  In  many  of  these  schools,  I  had  rea 
son  to  believe,  my  efforts  were  blessed  not  only  to  the  minds, 
but  to  the  souls,  of  my  pupils.  How  I  should  love  to  see  them 
all,  and  converse  and  pray  with  them  all  once  more !  Sev 
eral  of  them  are  in  the  ministry,  and  may  they  be  able  min 
isters  of  the  New  Testament ! 

"  In  my  school  in  Keene  the  religious  interest  awakened 
was  long-continued  and  very  deep.  Oh,  what  precious  meet 
ings  we  had !  and  what  blessed  recitations  of  the  Assembly's 
Catechism !  My  soul  with  great  joy  and  thankfulness  hath 
them  still  in  remembrance.  And  what  would  I  not  crive  for 

O 

the  privilege  of  again  sitting  with  those  dear  youth  '  in 
heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus ' !  Well,  we  hope  in  those 
heavenly  places  to  sit  together  for  ever.  The  commence 
ment  of  the  revival  was  under  the  following  circumstances. 
One  of  the  boys  had  been  guilty  of  using  profane  language. 
After  conversing  with  him  some  time  on  his  sin,  and  telling 
him  that  without  repentance  and  forgiveness  he  could  never 
enter  heaven,  I  tied  a  string  round  his  neck,  and  charged  him 
to  remember,  whenever  he  felt  that  string,  that  he  could  not 
go  to  heaven  without  being  pardoned,  and  that  he  could  not 
expect  pardon  without  asking  for  it.  When  he  came  to 
school  the  next  morning  the  string  was  gone,  it  having  been 
taken  off  by  his  father.  As  parental  authority  was  superior 
to  mine,  I  could  not  take  him  to  task ;  but  I  again  addressed 
him  and  the  whole  school  on  the  sin  of  profanity,  reminding 
them  of  what  God  had  said  of  him  that  taketh  Plis  name  in 
vain.  I  then  asked  him  if  he  wished  me  to  pray  that  God 


REVIVAL   IN   SCHOOL.  33 

would  forgive  this  sin  and  all  the  sins  he  had  ever  committed, 
and  save  him  from  eternal  punishment.  On  his  assenting  to 
this  I  took  him  by  the  hand  and  rose  for  prayer.  The 
whole  school  rose  as  by  a  sudden  impulse.  The  boy  wept, 
and  the  whole  school  were  deeply  moved.  When  I  ceased 
praying,  all  the  pupils  seemed  so  much  affected  that  I  con 
tinued  to  speak  to  them  for  some  minutes  on  sin,  repentance, 
and  salvation ;  and  from  that  time  for  many  weeks  onward 
it  was  as  easy  to  speak  to  them  on  those  infinitely  important 
subjects  as  it  was  to  breathe.  Christ  was  there,  and  every 
word  spoken  in  His  name  seemed  to  tell.  They  all  appeared 
to  feel  that  in  that  prayer  they  had  come  directly  into  the 
presence  of  God,  —  much  nigher  to  Him  than  they  ever  came 
before,  —  and  that  they  were  transacting  business  with  Him 
for  eternity  ;  and  I  doubt  not '  the  Lord  will  count,  when  He 
writeth  up  the  people,  that  this  and  that  one  were  born 
there/ 

"Among  the  first  letters  of  welcome  I  received,  when 
visiting  my  native  land  in  1851,  was  one  from  a  daughter  of 
Judge  Newcomb,  who  in  that  memorable  winter  began  to 
breathe  the  breath  of  spiritual  life,  —  a  life  which  shall  never 
end.  And  among  the  first  letters  of  welcome  I  received 
upon  my  final  return  home  with  my  family,  in  1865,  was 
one  from  this  same  beloved  daughter,  who  still  '  has  life,  and 
has  it  more  abundantly/  Though  wanting  in  some  measure 
the  sense  of  hearing,  she  could  and  did,  and  I  doubt  not 
does  still,  hear  the  whispers  of  the  Spirit,  and  the  sweet  and 
precious  words  of  Jesus.  And  should  any  of  the  beloved 
youth  of  this  school,  or  of  any  other  school  I  have  taught, 
read  these  lines,  may  I  not  hope  they  will  offer  up  this  one 
petition  for  their  old  teacher,  that,  after  having  pointed  out 
to  them  and  to  many  others  the  way  to  heaven,  he  may  not 
himself  be  '  a  castaway '  ?  I  have  reason  to  be  very  grateful 
that  one  so  unworthy  should  have  been  employed  to  such  a 
degree  in  these  blessed  services,  while  at  the  same  time  I 
ought  to  be  no  less  humble  and  penitent  that  in  those  blessed 
2*  o 


34  FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

services  I  did  not  feel  more  of  the  l  constrainings  of  the  love 
of  Christ '  urging  me  on  to  action. 

"  In  the  winter' of  1814  I  taught  school  by  day,  and  a  sing 
ing  class  also  in  the  evening,  at  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.  Here  I 
found  myself  among  some  of  the  very  best  of  people.  The 
church  was  emphatically  a  working  church ;  and  perhaps, 
with  even  more  propriety  than  many  of  the  apostolic 
churches,  might  be  called  a  model  church.  Every  member 
appeared  to  be  a  living  branch  of  the  true  vine,  and  to  be 
always  standing  in  his  or  her  lot,  ready  for  any  and  every 
service  which  was  to  be  performed  for  Christ.  The  church 
had  no  pastor,  and,  I  think,  had  always  been  without  one ; 
for  pastors  were  then  few  in  that  part  of  the  country.  But 
the  public  services  of  the  sanctuary,  together  with  the  prayer 
meetings  maintained  by  the  church  on  the  Sabbath  and  at 
other  times,  were  of  the  most  interesting  character ;  special 
pains  being  taken  to  procure  the  very  best  sermons  that 
could  be  found  in  the  whole  country ;  and  the  reader  being 
always  expected  to  look  over  very  carefully  beforehand  the 
sermon  he  was  to  read  in  public,  in  order  that  the  emphasis 
might  in  every  case  be  laid  right,  and  the  meaning  brought 
out  with  clearness  and  power.  They  also  took  special  pains 
to  sing  well,  often  meeting  together  for  the  sake  of  practis 
ing,  and  employing  a  teacher  to  perfect  both  themselves  and 
their  children  in  the  science  as  well  as  in  the  art  of  music. 
Their  prayers  were  devout  and  edifying,  for  they  were  offered 
by  those  accustomed  to  *  lift  up  holy  hands  without  wrath  or 
doubting.'  Those  parents,  both  men  and  women,  took  strong 
hold  of  the  Abrahamic  covenant ;  and  as  much  expected 
their  children  to  be  heirs  according  to  the  promise  as  the 
good  patriarch  himself  expected  his  son  Isaac  would  be.  In 
fact,  whenever  I  see  or  hear  the  word  St.  Johnsbury,  I  always 
think  of  the  place  of  which  God  said,  '  This  is  my  rest  for 
ever ;  here  will  I  dwell,  for  I  have  desired  it.' 

"  That  church  was  composed  of  such  members  as  the  very 
godly  parents  of  Professor  Lawrence,  late  of  East  Windsor 


COLLEGE    APPOINTMENTS.  35 

Theological  Institute ;  the  Hon.  Luther  Jewett,  M.D.,  him 
self  a  host ;  Governor  Fairbanks,  that  wonderful  man,  whose 
very  name  in  all  that  region  was  a  synonyme  of  every  thing 
that  was  upright,  honorable,  benevolent,  and  good ;  together 
with  his  earnest  and  excellent  brother,  he,  I  mean,  the 
inventor  of  the  celebrated  Fairbanks  scales.  The  last  men 
tioned  Fairbanks  was,  on  account  of  his  wonderful  mechan 
ical  genius,  a  man  after  Dr.  Hamlin's  own  heart  (the  Rev. 
Dr.  Hamlin,  I  mean,  President  of  the  Robert  College  in 
Constantinople),  he  being,  as  is  well  known,  a  great  mechanic  ; 
and  when  I  told  him  that  this  Fairbanks  had  once  been  a 
pupil  of  mine,  shutting  up  one  eye  and  squinting  at  me  with 
the  other,  he  very  naively,  as  if  with  the  most  unaffected 
simplicity,  remarked,  '  You  must  have  taught  away  to  him 
all  your  own  knowledge,  reserving  nothing  for  yourself; 
for  you  yourself  have  been  utterly  deficient  in  that  line  from 
the  first  day  I  knew  you.'  A  bit  of  pleasantry  to  be  sure 
not  much  to  the  credit  of  the  one  addressed ;  but  I  have  at 
least  the  satisfaction  of  feeling  that  I  taught  it  all  away  to 
one  who  knew  how  to  employ  it  to  some  good  purpose. 

"  On  Sophomore  Quarter-day,  in  1815,  the  Faculty,  to 
my  surprise,  gave  me  the  first  appointment,  which  was  the 
Latin  Salutatory.  But  when  we  graduated,  in  1817,  I  had 
the  Greek  Oration,  then  considered  the  third  appointment ; 
Marsh,  afterwards  President  'of  Burlington  College,  had 
the  first,  which  was  the  Valedictory ;  and  Chase,  now  Bishop 
of  New  Hampshire,  received  the  second,  which  was,  I  think, 
the  Philosophical.  During  the  greater  part  of  my  senior 
year  I  was  engaged  in  teaching,  and  was  able  to  attend 
but  few  recitations.  Had  it  been  otherwise,  had  I  spent 
the  whole  year  in  hard  study,  it  is  not  likely  that  I  should 
have  deserved  a  higher  appointment  than  the  one  given  me ; 
for  the  class  was  a  large  one,  and  there  were  many  very 
good  scholars  in  it.  One  thing  is  certain,  and  I  think  of  it 
even  now  with  satisfaction,  that  for  the  sake  of  a  collegiate 
honor  I  never  studied  fifteen  minutes  the  more,  no,  not  ten, 


6b  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

nor  even  five,  during  my  whole  course ;  and  that  my  eyes 
and  health  were  as  good  at  the  end  as  at  the  beginning. 
My  health  was  indeed  always  feeble;  and  three  hours  a 
day  were  just  about  my  average  time  of  study.  But  then, 
when  I  did  study,  it  was  in  good  earnest,  concentrating  my 
whole  mind  directly  on  the  subject.  It  was  much  the  same 
during  all  my  term  at  the  Theological  Seminary,  and  during 
much  of  my  missionary  life  I  have  been  able  to  devote  but 
a  few  hours  a  day  to  close  study.  But  though  feeble  from 
childhood,  I  have  hardly  ever  been  sick  a  day.  In  fact,  I 
have  been  growing  stronger  ever  since  I  was  born ;  and 
should  '  the  days  of  the  years  of  my  life '  run  parallel  with 
those  of  Methuselah,  might  it  not  be  reasonably  expected 
that  I  should  be  more  hale  and  vigorous  in  the  nine  hun 
dred  and  sixty-ninth  year  of  my  life,  than  any  of  the 
hypochondriacs  of  any  generation  of  students,  past,  present, 
or  future  ? 

"  During  the  revival  at  college,  the  pious  students  were 
hi  the  habit  of  going  out,  if  not  daily,  weekly,  into  the 
neighboring  villages  and  towns  to  conduct  meetings,  some 
times  in  a  school-house  and  sometimes  in  the  church  itself; 
and  as  they  carried  the  revival  spirit  with  them,  and  as 
much  expected  a  revival  in  every  place  as  they  expected 
to  reach  that  place  themselves,  the  flame  was  kindled  every 
where,  the  Spirit  was  poured  out  from  on  high,  and  very 
many,  it  is  believed,  were  created  anew  in  Christ  Jesus 
unto  good  works.  Before  the  commencement  of  this  re 
vival  a  Moral  Society  had  been  formed  in  college,  which 
embraced  a  large  number  of  the  students,  and  which  prom 
ised  to  be  very  useful.  A  regular  meeting  of  this  society, 
occurring  in  the  very  height  of  the  revival,  very  few  of  the 
members,  especially  of  those  who  had  been  recently  con 
verted,  or  who  had  been  most  active  in  those  revival  scenes, 
were  present,  and  this  gave  occasion  for  the  complaint  thai 
we  had  become  too  religious  to  be  any  longer  moral,  and 
that  we  were  devoting  so  much  time  to  religion,  that  we  had 


REVIVAL  IN   COLLEGE.  37 

none  left  for  morality.  "We  were  then  young  and  inex 
perienced,  and  very  zealous,  and  were  doubtless  much  less 
discreet  than  we  ought  to  have  been  in  regard  to  many 
things.  The  revival  was  indeed  one  of  remarkable  power ; 
and  yet  college  duties  were  not  in  general  suspended,  but 
the  studies  and  recitations  for  the  most  part  went  on  as 
usual.  On  one  occasion,  however,  when  one  of  the  pro 
fessors  was  hearing  a  class  in  the  recitation-room,  in  the 
room  immediately  above  'many  were  gathered  together 
praying.'  And  the  singing  of  sweet  hymns  in  that  same 
room,  where  boisterous  mirth  had  been  previously  often 
heard,  so  deeply  affected  the  Professor  and  his  whole  class, 
that  their  recitation  that  morning  was  turned  into  a  meet 
ing  for  thanksgiving  and  praise.  And  that  was  the  only 
instance  I  recollect  of  any  interruption  to  the  regular  duties 
of  the  college. 

"  One  day  a  student,  observing  his  heart  more  filled  with 
wicked  thoughts  than  he  had  previously  supposed  possible, 
and  alarmed  to  find  his  own  powers  altogether  too  feeble  to 
control  them,  undertook  to  escape  from  himself.  Throwing 
off  his  outer  garments,  he  ran  as  if  for  dear  life ;  and  those 
who  saw  him  in  this  earnest  race  knew  as  little  what  his  ob 
ject  was,  as  those  who  hastened  to  get  out  of  John  Gilpin's  way 
knew  of  his.  He  ran  and  ran  till  well  nigh  exhausted ;  but, 
finding  all  his  bad  thoughts  still  clinging  as  closely  as  ever, 
he  became  discouraged,  and,  slowly  returning  to  his  room  in 
college,  cried,  '  Lord,  save,  or  I  perish.'  That  runaway  has 
now  been  for  many  years  a  steadfast  preacher  of  the  glorious 
Gospel,  directing  the  attention  of  men  to  the  Lamb  of  God, 
who  alone  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world. 

"  The  most  of  our  fellow-students  at  Dartmouth  had,  like 
ourselves,  to  struggle  hard  to  get  an  education ;  and  we  did 
not  any  of  us  make  so  much  use  as  we  might  of  the  unlim 
ited  credit  we  had  on  the  Bank  of  Faith,  viz.,  *  Trust  in  the 
Lord  and  do  good,  so  shalt  thou  dwell  in  the  land,  and  verily 
thou  shalt  be  fed.'  And  in  those  days  we  heard  the  story  of 


38  FORTY   YEARS  IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

another  bank,  as  it  might  be  called,  with  which  we  were 
sometimes  tempted  to  do  business.  It  had,  indeed,  in  its 
vault  no  specie,  —  I  mean,  no  Scripture  promises ;  yet  it 
strangely  secured  the  confidence  of  many  desponding  minds. 
The  story  ran  thus  :  A  poor  student,  very  inattentive  to  his 
studies,  and  extremely  careless  as  to  both  his  manners  and 
his  morals,  was  repeatedly,  though  to  little  purpose,  admon 
ished  by  his  tutors  and  professors.  At  length  the  President 
sent  for  him,  and,  after  giving  him  plenty  of  good  advice  and 
solemn  warning  of  his  danger  in  the  course  he  was  pursu 
ing,  asked  him,  '  How  do  you  ever  expect  to  get  through  the 
world  in  this  way  ? '  The  fellow  at  once  and  very  archly 
replied,  '  Did  you  ever  hear  of  any  one  sticking  by  the  way  ? ' 
*  Yes,  surely :  all  get  through  by  hook  or  by  crook,  and  no 
body  ever  sticks  by  the  way'  These  few  words,  ' nobody  ever 
sticks  by  the  way]  spoken  to  the  ear  of  one  sunk  low  in  de 
spondency,  often  had  a  talismanic  potency  to  drive  away  his 
anxious  forebodings.  I  have  seen  the  face  of  our  good 
brother  Temple  lighted  up  with  smiles  and  joyful  hopes,  by 
simply  repeating  those  talismanic  words, '  nobody  ever  sticks  by 
the  way.1 

"  Of  some  of  my  college  classmates  the  following  are  well 
known :  President  Marsh,  of  Burlington  College,  the  vale 
dictorian  of  our  class ;  President  Gushing,  of  Hampden 
Sidney ;  Professor  Fisk,  of  Amherst ;  Emory  "Washburn, 
LL.D.,  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  and  Professor  of  Law 
at  Cambridge  University  ;  Benjamin  Dorr,  D.D.,  Rector  of 
Christ  Church  in  Philadelphia ;  Carlton  Chase,  D.D.,  Bishop 
of  the  Diocese  of  New  Hampshire ;  and  Lyndon  A.  Smith, 
M.D.,  of  Newark,  N.  J.  I  should  love  to  mention  by  name 
many  others  of  my  class,  whose  countenances  I  can  in  some 
cases  still  recall,  but  whose  names,  during  a  long  absence 
from  the  country,  have  faded  from  my  memory.  I  hope  to 
see  them  in  that  world  where  their  faces  will  shine  as  the 
brightness  of  the  firmament,  and  they  will  all  of  them  be 
found  to  have  '  received  a  new  name,  which  the  mouth  of  the 


COLLEGE-MATES.  39 

Lord  shall  name,'  and  which  shall  not  be  forgotten  for  ever. 
In  the  class  before  me  were  such  men  as  Professor  Haddock, 
Professor  Torrey,  President  Wheeler,  of  Burlington  College, 
Rev.  Dr.  Absalom  Peters.  Another  member  of  the  class, 
who  afterward  became  a  member  of  Congress,  and  who 
secured  from  his  Alma  Mater  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.D., 
like  many  of  us  sprung  from  poverty,  but  earned  a  pittance 
by  ringing  the  college  bell.  Receiving  very  deservedly  a 
high  appointment  at  Sophomore  quarter-day,  as  it  was  then 
called,  he  was  much  encouraged  by  this  honor,  and  his  friends 
were  not  a  little  elated  with  his  success.  Indeed,  he  became 
so  inspired  with  self-reliance  that  he  was  accustomed  after 
wards  to  stand  out  on  the  steps  in  front  of  the  college,  and 
by  the  hour  together  discuss  the  great  questions  of  the  day 
with  the  greatest  wranglers  in  the  three  upper  classes  in 
college.  And  his  step  was  now  so  firm,  and  his  carriage  so 
erect,  that  the  words  of  the  poet  were  often  applied  to  him :  — 

4  At  every  step  his  advanced  head 
Knocked  out  a  star  in  heaven. ' 

"  Thus  potent  is  a  little  encouragement  received  at  the 
proper  time  by  a  poor,  timid  student.  The  Rev.  Levi 
Spaulding,  D.D.,  the  distinguished  missionary  in  Ceylon, 
was  my  junior  in  college,  but  I  knew  him  well  both  before 
and  after.  So  also  Professor  Upham  and  Professor  Bush, 
together  with  Rufus  Choate,  LL.D.,  who  were  in  the  classes 
after  me,  were  well  known  to  me,  for  that  wonderful  revival 
which  took  place  in  Sophomore  year  threw  all  the  classes 
into  one  indiscriminate  mass,  and  all  class  distinctions  were 
for  the  time  being  entirely  obliterated. 

"  During  our  Freshman  year  at  college,  the  number  of 
pious  students  in  the  upper  classes  was  very  small.  In  the 
senior  class  there  was,  I  think,  but  one  professor  of  religion, 
and  he,  in  point  of  scholarship,  stood  among  the  lowest  in 
the  class.  There  was  no  prayer-meeting  conducted  by  the 
students,  and,  of  course,  although  Professors  Shurtliff,  Moore, 


40  FORTY   YEARS   IN    THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

and  Muzzy  were  not  only  able,  but  very  earnest  Christian 
men,  yet  there  was  no  spiritual  life  in  college.  Thus  passed 
one  whole  year  of  death-like  stupidity.  In  our  Sophomore 
year  we  began  to  have  more  courage.  About  this  time  it 
was  that  the  members  of  the  Theological  Society,  that  met 
every  Saturday  evening  in  secret  session,  with  doors  locked 
and  windows  barred,  that  we  might  not  be  interrupted  by 
the  thoughtless  ones  in  college,  unanimously  adopted  that 
fnmous  resolution  that  we  would,  each  one  of  us,  converse 
with  at  least  three  of  his  fellow-students  on  the  subject  of 
personal  religion  during  the  coming  week,  giving  them  also 
a  special  interest  in  our  prayers.  We  had  hardly  commenced 
our  work  when  the  Spirit  was  poured  out  upon  us  from  on 
high  in  a  most  remarkable  manner,  and  instead  of  convers 
ing  with  three  of  our  fellow-students,  we  (certainly  some 
of  us)  conversed  with  more  than  thirty  times  three.  My 
room-mate,  Temple,  being  everywhere  known  as  a  man 
of  God,  and  of  deep  Christian  experience,  our  room  was 
thronged  from  morning  till  night  with  those  who  '  would 
see  Jesus.'  I  have  seen  many  precious  revivals,  but  I  have 
never  since  witnessed  a  work  so  mighty  as  was  that  at 
Dartmouth  College  in  1815,  embracing  some  of  the  finest 
scholars  in  every  class  in  college,  together  with  most  of  the 
distinguished  families  that  lived  in  its  vicinity,  and  extend 
ing  its  saving  influence  even  to  subsequent  classes  in  follow 
ing  years. 

"I  recall  the  names  of  some  of  the  subjects  of  this  work 
of  grace  who  in  after  life  became  distinguished  men  :  Pro 
fessors  Torrey,  Fisk,  Bush,  and  Upham  ;  President  Wheeler, 
President  Marsh,  President  Gushing,  Bishop  Chase,  and 
last,  but  not  least,  that  beloved  missionary  of  the  cross  in 
Ceylon,  Levi  Spaulding.  All  these  were  men  of  note,  and, 
besides,  there  were  many  who,  though  less  known,  became 
earnest  and  useful  ministers  of  the  New  Testament.  A 
large  number  of  students,  with  members  of  the  principal 
families  in  the  neighborhood,  joined  the  college  church  in 


LEV!   SPAULDING.  41 

one  day.  And  then  it  was  we  felt,  and  some  of  us  said, 
as  we  stood  on  a  knoll  in  front  of  the  college  buildings, 
'  The  winter  is  past,  and  the  rain  is  over  and  gone,  and  the 
flowers  appear  on  the  earth,  and  the  time  of  the  singing 
of  birds  is  come/  I  well  remember  the  first  public  prayer 
which  Haddock  made.  He  had  always  been  strictly  moral, 
and  such  was  the  gentleness  of  bis  manner,  and  such  his 
native  politeness,  that  he  was  often  pointed  out  to  us  as  an 
example  of  what  we  might  all  of  us  become,  even  though 
we  should  never  attend  a  dancing-school ;  but  it  was  not 
generally  known  that  he  was  indulging  hope  in  Christ,  nor 
even  that  his  mind  had  of  late  been  unusually  impressed 
with  the  great  things  of  eternity.  When,  therefore,  at 
the  close  of  a  meeting  in  the  old  school-house,  I  asked  him 
to  offer  prayer,  and  he  arose  at  once  with  all  the  grace  and 
dignity  so  natural  to  him,  and  poured  out  his  heart  in  a 
prayer  of  great  fervency  and  peculiarly  appropriate,  the 
effect  was  overpowering,  and  the  glory  of  God  seemed  to 
fill  the  place.  Every  heart  trembled  for  joy  or  with  fear, 
and  we  hardly  dared  speak  to  one  another  as  we  walked 
silently  away  from  the  place. 

"  At  one  of  those  little,  but  never-to-be-forgotten  prayer- 
meetings,  there  was  present  a  member  of  the  senior  class. 
He  was  a  distinguished  scholar,  and  excelled  particularly 
in  mathematical  studies.  As  we  did  not  in  those  days  wait 
for  much  ceremony,  and  as  we  scarcely  thought  of  what  was 
due  from  a  Sophomore  to  a  Senior,  we  pounced  upon  him 
at  once  with  such  tremendous  questions  that  he  soon  found 
his  mathematics  at  fault,  for  he  could  not  solve  the  principal 
problem,  t  What  shall  it  profit  a  man,  if  he  gain  the  whole 
world  and  lose  his  own  soul  ?  '  He  took  his  hat  and  retired, 
and  some  forty  years  afterwards,  describing  the  scene  in  a 
letter  to  some  friends,  he  said :  *  I  went  out  under  a  pine- 
tree,  and  gave  myself  up  to  God,  and  that  pine-tree  (said 
he)  will  be  remembered  in  heaven/  Yes,  indeed,  Brother 
Spaulding,  and  many  pine-trees  will  be  remembered  in 


42  FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

heaven.  And  many  such  rocks  and  trees,  and  old  school  - 
houses,  will  be  remembered  there.  From  under  that  pine- 
tree  where  he  groaned,  and  wept,  and  prayed,  and  gave 
himself  to  God,  Spaulding  went  to  that  school-house,  *  where 
many  were  gathered  together  praying.'  He  came  in,  look 
ing  as  though  he  had  never  seen  such  a  sight  before.  But 
.  he  arose  almost  immediately,  and,  throwing  his  spectacles 
back  on  his  head,  while  rivers  of  water  ran  down  his  eyes, 
he  brought  out  all  the  mathematics  he  ever  knew,  demon 
strating  every  truth  with  more  than  mathematical  precision, 
even  with  the  power  of  the  Spirit,  so  that  every  thought 
less  heart  in  that  crowded  house  quailed.  Those  were,  indeed, 
the  years  of  the  right  hand  of  the  Most  High.  And  I  do 
not  know  that  we  were  ever  more  honored  of  God  as  His 
instruments  in  doing  good  than  during  those  blessed  years. 

"  How  much  would  I  give  to  revisit  all  these  scenes  of 
college  life,  and  especially  all  those  interesting  spots  made 
sacred  by  the  presence  and  blessing  of  the  Holy  Spirit !  I 
would  go  to  our  good  Deacon  Kellogg's.  I  would  go  into 
the  old  school-house,  feeling  that  the  Lord  will  assuredly 
count,  when  He  writeth  up  the  people,  that  this  and  that 
one  were  born  there.  I  would  go  over  '  Mink  Brook,'  and 
think  of  all  the  precious  memories  of  those  who  lived  and 
were  born  again  on  its  banks.  I  would  go  into  the  ceme 
tery,  arid  feel  what  a  blessed  thing  it  is  to  work  and  suffer 
for  Christ  in  this  world.  I  would  go  and  see  all  the  young 
professors,  and  the  new  president,  and  say  to  them  : 
'  Instead  of  the  fathers  shall  be  the  children,'  and,  in  com 
parison  with  those  who  have  preceded  you,  may  you  be  like 
'  princes  in  all  the  earth.'  Last  summer  I  saw  at  Brock- 
port,  N.  Y.,  a  lady  who  lived  on  the  plains  of  Dartmouth, 
amidst  those  scenes  of  glory.  She  said  I  assisted  her  ill 
inaugurating  the  first  Sabbath  school  ever  known  in  this 
country.  This,  I  assured  her,  could  not  have  been,  —  though 
it  may  possibly  have  been  the  first  Sabbath  school  estab 
lished  in  the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  or  at  least  in  that 
part  of  the  State. 


ORDINATION    OF   MISSIONARIES.  43 

"  Many  years  have  elapsed  since  those  wonderful  days, 
and  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  in  describing  them  I  have 
stated  every  thing  with  perfect  accuracy  or  in  due  order. 
But,  in  every  remembrance,  I  always  exclaim,  'Not  unto 
us,  O  Lord,  not  unto  us  ! ' ' 

At  what  period  Mr.  Goodell  first  became  interested  in  the 
subject  of  foreign  missions  as  a  question  of  personal  duty 
does  not  appear  from  any  records  which  he  has  left.  When 
he  went  out  from  his  father's  house  to  obtain  an  education, 
his  purposes  for  life  were  altogether  indefinite.  He  did 
not  even  have  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel  distinctly  in  view. 
But  the  instructions  of  his  beloved  preceptor  at  Phillips 
Academy  seem  to  have  awakened  new  and  higher  views  of 
Christian  obligation,  and  to  have  inspired  him  with  nobler 
aims.  Almost  at  the  beginning  of  his  studies  the  stern  pur 
pose  which  led  him  to  seek  preparation  for  a  wider  sphere  of 
usefulness  ripened  into  a  humble  and  complete  consecra 
tion  to  the  work  of  his  Master,  and  a  willingness  to  do  His 
will,  whatever  the  work  might  be. 

While  he  was  at  Phillips  Academy,  the  first  missionaries 
of  the  American  Board  to  India,  Messrs.  Newell,  Jud- 
son,  Hall,  Nott,  and  Rice,  were  ordained  at  Salem,  Mass., 
about  twenty  miles  from  Andover.  This  service  young 
Goodell  attended,  and  he  thus  describes  the  scene  in  his 
Reminiscences :  — 

"The  ordination  took  place  at  the  Tabernacle  Church, 
Feb.  6,  1812.  The  students  in  the  Academy  had  repeat 
edly  seen  the  most  or  all  of  them,  and  had  heard  Judson 
and  some  others  of  them  preach.  Mr.  Adams  kindly  gave 
permission  for  any  of  the  older  students  to  go  who  wished ; 
and,  with  my  classmate  Cumrnings,  I  at  once  embraced  the 
opportunity.  The  day  was  one  of  the  coldest  known  that 
winter.  It  was  exceedingly  slippery,  and  we  had  to  strain 
every  nerve  and  exert  every  muscle  to  keep  on  our  feet, 
while,  at  the  same  time,  we  had  to  press  forward  with  all 


44  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

the  eagerness  possible  in  order  to  arrive  in  time.  The  sea, 
a  ship,  a  wharf,  a  city,  a  seaport  town,  were  all  new  and 
strange  things  to  me,  my  eyes  never  having  looked  upon 
such  things  before ;  and,  after  arriving  and  taking  some 
refreshment  with  the  relatives  of  Mr.  Cummings,  I  spent 
the  time  before  the  ordination  services  in  running  every 
where,  and  seeing  every  thing.  My  fatigue  was  already 
so  great  that  a  bed  would  have  been  a  much  more  fitting 
place  than  a  church.  But  only  the  latter  was  open,  and 
I  entered  with  the  crowd. 

"  The  church  was  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity.  The  news 
of  the  approaching  ordination  had  spread  far  and  wide,  and 
the  excitement  was  of  no  ordinary  kind,  —  to  see  five  young 
men,  of  great  promise,  possessing  talents  and  attainments 
of  a  high  order,  and  voluntarily  devoting  themselves,  at  the 
call  of  Christ,  to  all  the  poverty,  the  hardships,  and  the 
perils  of  a  mission  for  life.  Ann  H.  Judson  and  Harriet 
Newell  were  there,  both  to  be  afterwards  embalmed  in  the 
memory  of  the  Church,  and  to  have  an  imperishable  record 
in  its  history.  And  there  were  also  present  those  men  of 
God,  the  Rev.  Drs.  Worcester,  Griffin,  Woods,  Morse, 
Spring,  and  many  other  great  and  good  men,  several  of 
whom  took  part  in  those  very  solemn  ordination  services. 
The  interest  manifested  was  universally  very  deep.  God 
was  there,  and  in  that  great  assembly  there  was,  at  times, 
a  stillness  'like  the  stillness  of  God,  when  He  ariseth  in 
silence  to  bless  the  world.'  At  times  the  whole  great  assem 
bly  seemed  moved  as  the  trees  of  the  wood  are  moved  by  a 
mighty  wind.  As  may  well  be  supposed,  the  feelings  of  the 
audience,  and  especially  our  own,  were  wrought  up  to  the 
highest  pitch. 

"  Immediately  at  the  close  of  the  services  we  had  to  start, 
without  rest  or  refreshment,  to  walk  back  to  Andover. 
Long  before  we  reached  home  I  had  ceased  to  have  any 
control  over  the  muscles  of  locomotion,  but  staggered  like 
a  paralytic.  Some  theological  students,  who  had  also  been 


HARRIET   NEWELL.  45 

to  Salem,  overtaking  us,  assisted  in  supporting  me  along. 
Being  placed  between  two  of  them,  and  bearing  my  whole 
weight  upon  them,  they,  by  taking  turns,  succeeded  in  carry 
ing  their  load.  Through  a  kind  Providence  we  reached  the 
house  where  I  first  boarded  at  Andover.  The  family  imme 
diately  spread  a  bed  for  me  on  the  floor,  before  the  fire, 
and  tried  to  make  me  comfortable ;  bat  I  shook  and  shook, 
till  it  seemed  as  if  my  nerves  and  muscles  would  never 
again  become  quiet.  It  was  certainly  a  wonder  I  did  not 
become  permanently  paralyzed  by  this  exposure,  excitement, 
and  excessive  fatigue.  But  God  preserved  my  life;  and 
the  next  day  I  was  able  to  walk  to  my  lodgings,  and  soon 
to  attend  to  my  lessons.  I  felt  amply  repaid  by  being  so 
thoroughly  inoculated  with  the  missionary  spirit,  that  a  re- 
inoculation  has  never  been  found  necessary." 

This  ordination  seems  to  have  made  a  deep  impression 
upon  his  mind ;  but  we  find  no  record  in  his  diary  giving  any 
indication  of  his  having  seriously  proposed  the  question  of 
duty  to  his  own  heart  until  near  the  close  of  his  Freshman 
year  in  college,  when  he  wrote,  under  date  of  May  20th, 
1814:  — 

"  This  day  Brother  Nealy  called  upon  me.  He  expects 
soon,  with  Brother  Russel,  to  go  to  the  missionary  estab 
lishment  in  Gosport,  Eug.,  to  prepare  himself  to  be  a  mission 
ary.  Lord,  hast  thou  called  them  by  thy  grace  to  preach 
the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ  to  millions  who  are  per 
ishing  for  lack  of  vision  ?  Wilt  thou  prepare  them  for  it  ? 
But  what  shall  I  do  ?  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ? 
Here  am  1;  send  me.  I  desire  to  labor  where  thou  wilt 
have  me.  I  am  ready  to  follow  thee  wheresoever  thou 
leadest." 

The  bright  example  of  self-devotion  and  the  early  death  of 
Harriet  Newell  seem  to  have  deeply  affected  his  heart.  Mr. 
Newell  was  married  on  the  9th  of  the  same  month  on  which  he 
was  ordained  at  Salem.  He  sailed  with  his  young  wife  on  the 
19th  for  Calcutta.  On  the  19th  of  November,  in  the  same 


46      FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE. 

year,  Mrs.  Newell  died  at  the  Isle  of  France,  at  the  early 
age  of  nineteen.  Her  years  were  few,  but  her  life  was  long 
111  the  work  which  it  accomplished.  The  brief  memoir  which 
was  published  the  following  year  was  the  means  of  kindling 
the  missionary  spirit  in  many  hearts,  and  we  know  not  how 
much  influence  it  may  have  had  upon  William  Goodell  in 
leading  him  to  consecrate  himself  to  the  same  service.  That 
he  was  deeply  impressed  by  its  perusal  appears  from  the  fol 
lowing  entry  in  his  diary,  made  only  four  days  after  the  last- 
quoted  extract  from  his  journal :  — 

"  May  24.  A  few  days  since  I  received  the  Memoirs  of 
Mrs.  Harriet  Newell.  I  had  long  wished  to  become  more 
acquainted  with  her  life  and  writings.  My  curiosity  was  so 
excited,  and  my  desire  to  read  the  book  was  so  great,  that  I 
could  not  sit  down  and  read  it  through  by  course,  as  usual, 
until  I  had  turned  over  nearly  every  leaf,  reading  a  few 
lines  in  one  place  and  a  few  in  another.  I  could  not  re 
strain  my  tears  while  looking  on  her  likeness.  It  brought  to 
my  mind  her  piety,  devotetlness  to  God,  and  ardent  love  for 
the  millions  in  Asia.  When  I  consider  her  activity,  self- 
denial,  and  readiness  to  forsake  all  for  Christ,  I  feel  as  if  I 
had  no  religion.  Oh  that  a  flame  of  that  divine  love  which 
warmed  her  breast  might  be  kindled  in  this  heart  of  mine  !  " 

While  he  was  at  Dartmouth,  he  enjoyed  again  the  privi 
lege  of  attending  the  ordination  of  a  band  of  missionaries, 
of  which  he  wrote  in  his  journal :  — 

"July  4,  1815.  This  day  I  returned  again  to  college. 
My  health  is  much  improved  by  my  journey.  I  was  present 
at  the  ordination  of  six  missionaries  (Mills,  Richards,  Meigs, 
Warren,  Bard  well,  and  Poor)  at  Newburyport,  June  21st, 
and  at  the  grand  convention  of  ministers  at  Royalston. 
They  were  such  occasions  as  I  seldom  enjoy.  The  sacra* 
mental  season  at  Newburyport  was  peculiarly  interesting. 
To  sit  at  the  Lord's  table  with  so  many  of  the  redeemed 
servants  of  Christ,  assembled  from  various  places,  seemed 
next  to  being  in  heaven." 


ENTERING    ANDOVER   SEMINARY.  47 


CHAPTER  III. 

IN   the   autumn   of  1817,   having   completed   his   college 
course,  he  returned  to  Andover,  and  entered  the  Theo 
logical  Seminary.     The  day  on  which  he  became  a  member 
of  this  institution  he  made  the  following  record  :  — 

"  Wednesday  evening,  November  5,  1817.  "Was  this  evening 
admitted  a  member  of  the  sacred  institution  at  Andover. 
On  this  holy  ground,  consecrated  by  the  prayers  and  tears 
and  offerings  of  many  who  are  now  sleeping  in  the  tomb,  I 
purpose  to  spend  three  years,  and  '  give  n^self  to  reading, 
meditation,  and  prayer,'  hoping  in  due  season  to  be  in  some 
measure  prepared  to  preach  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ 
to  a  dying  world,  and  not  be  as  those  who  are  *  ever  learning 
and  never  able  to  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth.' " 

From  the  time  of  his  entering  the  Theological  Seminary 
his  associations  tended  to  increase  his  interest  hi  the  cause  of 
foreign  missions,  and  to  fasten  more  deeply  upon  his  heart 
the  conviction  that  the  call  from  the  perishing  in  distant 
lands,  which  had  been  ringing  in  his  ears,  was  addressed  to 
him  personally.  The  controversy  in  his  mind,  and  the  deci 
sion  to  which  he  came  in  connection  with  his  classmate  and 
most  intimate  friend,  Daniel  Temple,  he  describes  in  his 
Reminiscences :  — 

"  At  Andover  we  at  once  joined  that  little  sacied  band, 
whose  constitution  and  by-laws,  correspondence  and  records, 
together  with  all  the  signatures  of  the  members,  were  written 
with  an  alphabet  which  had  been  invented  expressly  for  the 
purpose  by  Gordon  Hall  and  his  noble  compeers,  and  which 
none  but  the  members  could  understand.  This  secret  society 


48  FOUTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

was  like  '  a  wheel  within  a  wheel,'  which,  though  unseen,  was 
not  unfelt,  for  it  moved  and  controlled  all  missionary  societies 
and  missionary  operations  in  a  way  which,  to  the  churches 
and  even  to  the  secretaries  themselves,  seemed  perfectly 
unaccountable.  Here  we  came  under  the  influence  of  such 
men  as  Pliny  Fisk,  that  excellent  missionary  pioneer  of 
Palestine,  who  afterwards  died  at  my  house  in  Beyrout ;  and 
of  Levi  Spaulding,  the  veteran  missionary  in  Ceylon,  whom 
we  had  known  at  Dartmouth  College,  and  who  now  ques 
tioned  us  as  closely  as  we  had  once,  during  that  great  revival 
in  college,  questioned  him.  We  were  professing  to  follow, 
and  to  be  entirely  willing  to  follow,  the  leadings  of  Provi 
dence,  wherever  we  might  be  directed.  And  we  were  ready 
to  declare  further,  what  in  fact  we  had  been  doing  for  several 
years,  that  should  the  state  of  the  world,  at  the  close  of  our 
studies,  be  such  as  it  then  was,  it  would  undoubtedly  be  our 
duty  to  engage  personally  in  the  work  of  carrying  the  Gospel 
to  the  heathen.  What  need  was  there  of  our  coming  to  a 
determination  more  positive  and  decided  ? 

"  These  brethren,  together  with  Levi  Parsons  and  several 
other  strong  men  of  that  generation,  were  not  satisfied  with 
this,  and  solemnly  assured  us  that  unless  we  were  prepared 
to  take  a  step  much  in  advance,  it  was  morally  certain  we 
could  never  be  missionaries.  This  at  first  seemed  to  us  little 
better  than  atheism,  and  we  began  to  urge  some  objections 
from  our  stand-point.  We  had  been  following  the  leadings 
of  Providence  in  regard  to  every  thing  all  our  days,  and  we 
had  each  of  us  been  in  a  remarkable  degree  the  child  of 
Providence,  and  ought  we  now  to  renounce  Providence,  and 
take  things  info  our  own  hands,  especially  this  great  matter 
of  personally  engaging  in  the  missionary  work  ?  But  our 
strongest  objections  and  arguments  did  not  seem  to  have  the 
weight  of  a  feather  with  these  men  of  God.  On  that  even 
ing  they  had  evidently  brought  together  all  their  strongest 
men  in  order  to  knock  away  the  platform  on  which  our  feet 
were  planted.  Naming  over  all  the  missionaries  who  had 


LETTER   TO    HIS    FATHER.  49 

ever  gone  from  Andover,  they  showed  most  clearly  that  every 
one  of  them  had  been  obliged  to  close  his  eyes  against  all  the 
doors  which  Providence  seemed  most  invitingly  to  open  for 
him  in  his  own  country,  and  to  stop  his  ears  against  all  the 
apparently  reiterated  calls  of  Providence  to  remain  at  home. 
They  dec!  are -1  that  if  a  man  were  fit  to  go  on  a  mission,  most 
unexpected  doors  would  be  opened  on  every  hand,  and  calls 
would  come  from  every  quarter,  some  of  them  louder  than 
when  seven  thunders  utter  their  voices,  all  of  them  earnestly 
urging  him  to  remain  here.  And  that  all  the  churches,  and 
all  the  venerable  pastors,  and  even  all  the  professors  of  the 
theological  seminaries,  would  endeavor  to  persuade  him  that 
Providence  evidently  designed  that  he  should  stay  at  home ; 
that,  in  fact,  he  was  the  only  man  who  could  fill  this  or  that 
important  place,  and  that  for  him  to  close  his  eyes  against 
these  open  doors,  and  to  shut  his  ears  against  these  loud 
calls,  would  be  to  rebel  against  the  light,  and  to  make  him 
self  wiser  than  God  and  all  God's  people.  Much  of  this  we 
ourselves  knew,  for  we  had  already  seen  it  in  the  case  of  our 
own  associates  who  preceded  us  in  the  missionary  work. 
And  we  soon  felt  the  necessity  of  coming  under  laws  like 
those  of  the  Medes  and  Persians.  These  strict  rules  were 
necessary,  not  only  for  our  safety,  but  for  our  comfort,  sav 
ing  us  from  distractions  and  difficulties  without  end.  It  was 
soon  understood  that  every  thing  had  already  been  considered 
and  settled,  and  that  it  was  altogether  in  vain  to  think  of 
turning  us  from  our  purpose,  our  minds  having  been  made 
up  in  full  view  of  all  these  circumstances  which  they  thought 
new  and  providential." 

In  February,  1818,  he  wrote  from  the  Theological  Semi 
nary  to  his  father  an  extended  letter,  communicating  to  him 
for  the  first  time  his  views  and  feelings  on  the  question  as  to 
where  he  should  spend  his  life  in  the  service  of  Christ, 
expressing ,  his  conviction  that  the  claims  of  the  Eastern 
world  far  outweighed  those  of  the  country  in  which  he  was 

3  D 


50  FORTY   YEARS   IN    THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

living,  and  concluding  with  the  following  reasons  for  consid 
ering  the  call  to  engage  in  the  work  of  missions  as  addressed 
personally  to  himself :  — 

u  1.  I  was  consecrated  to  God  in  infancy  by  my  parents,  to 
be  His  child  and  servant  for  ever. 

"  2.  I  have,  I  trust,  dedicated  myself  to  Him  who  formed  roe 
for  His  glory,  and  I  no  longer  consider  myself  as  my  own,  b^t 
as  bound  by  every  possible  obligation  to  be  as  active  in  His  ser 
vice  as  are  those  ministering  spirits  of  His  that  excel  in  strength 
and  do  His  pleasure,  to  go  wherever  He  shall  send  me,  and  most 
cheerfully  execute  all  His  commands.  I  have  often  said  to  Him, 
4  Help  me  to  serve  thee  with  all  my  powers,  and  I  refer  it  wholly 
to  thee  in  what  place,  under  what  circumstances,  or  even  in  what 
world  this  shall  be.' 

"  3.  My  business  is  not  merely  to  pass  through  the  world  with 
comfort,  reputation,  and  perhaps  with  a  degree  of  usefulness, 
but  to  attempt  the  greatest  possible  good,  to  practise  any  kind 
of  self-denial,  to  exert  every  faculty,  and  be  willing  to  follow 
Him  who  was  a  man  of  sorrows,  and  had  not  where  to  lay  His 
head,  to  promote  the  benevolent  object  for  which  He  became 
incarnate. 

"  4.  For  several  years  I  have,  I  hope,  desired  the  conversion 
of  the  heathen;  and  when  I  have  looked  upon  the  extensive 
fields  already  white  unto  the  harvest,  and  considered  how  few 
the  laborers,  I  have  at  least  professed  to  pray  the  Lord  of  the 
harvest  to  raise  up  many  who  should  enter  these  fields;  who 
should  go  to  the  east  and  west,  to  the  north  and  south,  and 
preach  glad  tidings  of  good  things  to  all  people.  And  since 
God  has  raised  me  up,  and  that,  too,  almost  by  a  miracle  (and 
for  some  purpose,  else  I  had  never  existed),  if  I  now  without 
sufficient  reason  refuse  to  go  (and  I  can  offer  none  which  ap 
pears  to  me  to  have  much  validity),  how  can  I  ever  again  make 
this  an  object  of  prayer? 

"  5.  The  grand  scheme  of  divine  Providence  which  has  been 
unfolding  to  the  admiring  view  of  those  who  are  looking  for 
redemption,  and  God's  providential  dealings  with  myself,  have 
all  conspired  in  directing  my  attention  to  the  East.  Add  to  all 
this,  if  you  please,  — 

"•  6.  The  facility  with  which  I  can  acquire  a  new  language, 
and  the  adaptation  of  the  work  of  a  missionary  in  many  re 
spects  to  my  constitution,  and  its  harmony  with  all  my  feelings, 
and  I  think  you  will  be  equally  convinced  with  myself  that  it  is 
my  duty  to  think  seriously  whether  I  ought  not  to  leave  my 
dearest  connections,  and  give  up  all  that  is  interesting  in  Chris 
tian  society  and  friendship,  in  order  to  extend  the  knowledge  of 
salvation  to  the  ruined,  dying  millions  in  pagan  lands. 

"  On  this  subject  I  have  asked  no  man's  advice,  because  I 


ORDINATION   AT   SALEM.  51 

thought  no  one  capable  of  determining  for  another.  But  a 
father's  advice  and  blessing  I  account  no  small  thing.  And  for 
this  reason  I  have  stated  rny  views  and  feelings  that  you  may 
communicate  yours  in  return  to  one  who,  I  hope,  will  ever 
thankfully  receive  reproof  and  counsel  from  an  affectionate 
parent." 

In  his  letter  to  his  father  he  alluded  to  one  obstacle,  with 
out  naming  it,  which  seemed  to  stand  in  the  way  of  his  devot 
ing  himself  to  the  work  of  missions.  It  was  the  dependent 
condition  of  his  father ;  but  this  he  immediately  set  about 
removing.  Leaving  the  Seminary,  he  visited  several  places 
in  New  England,  to  obtain  the  evidence  of  his  father's  ser 
vice  in  the  Revolutionary  army,  in  order  to  secure  for  him 
a  pension.  In  this  he  was  successful,  and  nothing  now 
remained  but  for  him  to  receive  his  father's  approbation  and 
blessing.  These  were  freely  given,  and  he  made  the  follow 
ing  record  of  his  final  decision :  — 

"  February  12,  1818.  This  evening  had  an  important  interview 
with  missionary  brethren.  And  now  'tis  done!  I  am  thine, 
O  thou  who  didst  die  for  the  world!  Send  me  where  thou  wilt; 
arm  me  with  Christian  courage,  and  most  cheerfully  I  go  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth  to  publish  thy  salvation  !  " 

From  this  time  onward  until  he  breathed  his  last  breath, 
he  never  faltered  in  his  absorbing  devotion  to  the  great  work 
of  Christian  missions,  —  that  of  making  known  the  Gospel 
of  Christ  to  the  whole  world. 

On  the  4th  of  November,  1818,  he  attended  the  ordination 
of  Pliny  Fisk,  Levi  Spaulding,  Miron  Winslow,  and  Henry- 
Woodward,  as  missionaries,  which  took  place  at  Salem,  Mass. 
Of  this  interesting  occasion  he  made  the  following  record  in 
his  journal :  — 

"  This  has  been  to  me  a  most  interesting  day.  Several  of 
my  missionary  brethren  were  set  apart  and  publicly  consecrated 
to  the  work  of  the  Lord  among  the  heathen.  The  audience 
was  numerous  and  attentive,  — the  exercises  solemn  and  calcu 
lated  to  make  a  favorable  impression.  May  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  God  rest  upon  these  my  dear  brethren,  — the  spirit  of 
counsel  and  might,  the  spirit  of  knowledge  and  of  the  fear  of 


52  FORTY   YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

Jehovah.     And  when  they  walk  in  the  midst  of  trouble  wilt 
thou  revive  them ! 

"  Spent  the  evening  with  those  who  were  ordained,  and  with 
those  who  intend,  unless  detained  by  Providence,  to  go  to  the 
heathen.  There  were  eleven  of  us  together,  —  a  number  equal 
to  that  of  the  apostles  when  they  returned  unto  Jerusalem  from 
the  mount  called  Olivet,  and  went  into  an  upper  room  and  con 
tinued  with  one  accord  in  prayer  and  supplication  with  the 
women.  We  had  no  expectation  of  spending  another  evening 
together  on  earth;  and  on  parting  sang,  '  When  shall  we  all 
meet  again,'  and  pronounced  Moses'  benediction:  'The  Lord 
bless  thee  and  keep  thee;  the  Lord  make  His  face  to  shine  upon 
thee,  and  be  gracious  unto  thee;  the  Lord  lift  up  His  countenance 
upon  thee  and  give  thee  peace.'  Amen  and  Amen." 

We  prefer  to  state  in  his  own  words,  penned  only  the  week 
before  his  death,  how  God  provided  for  him  a  loving  com 
panion  and  faithful  helper  for  his  missionary  life ;  one  who 
delighted  to  share  in  his  toils  and  trials,  and  who,  surviving 
him,  after  awaiting  with  joyful  expectation  the  hour  when 
their  blessed  intercourse,  so  long  enjoyed  on  earth,  should  be 
made  still  more  blessed  in  heaven,  went  up,  on  the  llth  of 
July,  1871,  to  be  for  ever  with  him  and  with  the  Lord.  He 
says  in  his  Reminiscences :  — 

"  And  here  I  might  as  well  introduce  another,  even  a  new 
and  important  personage,  whose  influence  on  all  my  subse 
quent  life  has  been  as  good  as  it  has  been  great.  Mr.  Tem 
ple  had  been  my  chum  during  the  whole  four  years  at  college, 
and  was  still  my  room-mate  at  the  Theological  Seminary.  But 
I  heard  incidentally  that  he  had  been  looking  out  for  a  more 
permanent  room-mate,  and  had  already  obtained  the  promise 
of  one.  It  must  be  confessed  that  I  was  at  first  a  little 
vexed  that  he  should  have  taken  so  important  a  step  without 
giving  me  even  a  hint  of  such  an  arrangement,  and  I  at  once 
determined  not  to  be  left  in  the  lurch.  It  is  true  that  there 
was  a  large  circle  of  very  estimable  young  ladies  whose 
acquaintance  I  had  made  in  vacations  and  in  the  schools  I 
had  taught ;  but  oh,  how  often  I  wished  that  some  maternal 
association,  or  that  the  whole  church,  Moravian  fashion, 
would  select  for  me  a  suitable  companion.  But  as  such 


HOW   HE   FOUND   A   WIFE.  53 

wishes  were  vain,  I  had  to  keep  on  praying,  having  already 
prayed  more  in  reference  to  this  subject  than  in  reference  to 
any  other  temporal  subject  whatever.  I  now  began  to  watch 
as  well  as  pray. 

"  In  passing,  one  vacation,  through  various  towns  in  New 
England  to  hold  meetings  of  a  relig;ous  or  educational  nature, 
I  came  to  the  town  of  Holden,  Mass.,  and  was  there  most 
providentially  introduced  to  a  lady  of  singularly  sweet  dis 
position,  modest  appearance,  and  dignified  demeanor,  bearing 
the  name  of  Abigail  P.  Davis.  But  though  our  acquaint 
ance  continued  and  increased  for  more  than  four  years,  yet  I 
was  unable  to  hear  from  her  lips  that  short  monosyllable, 
that  long-desired  word,  Yes,  till  Nov.  19,  1822,  when,  in  the 
presence  of  her  good  minister  and  of  numerous  other  friends, 
it  rang  out  with  such  clearness  as  quite  startled  me,  for  I 
had  nearly  begun  to  fear  that  there  might  be  some  defect  in 
her  organs  of  speech  in  reference  to  this  little  word.  And 
to  this  very  day  I  have  always  been  so  thankful  that  the 
business  was  not  left  to  any  maternal  association  or  to  any 
church,  be  it  Moravian  or  any  other  organization  under 
heaven.  It  was  all  as  if  manifestly  arranged  in  the  divine 
decrees  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  and  there  has 
never  been  any  disposition  on  her  part  or  mine  to  alter  these 
decrees. 

"  Several  months  after  letters  had  begun  to  come  to  me 
from  Holden,  Mr.  Temple,  to  whom  I  had  never  spoken  a 
word  on  the  subject  of  his  so  unceremoniously  changing 
his  room-mate,  said  to  me  one  day,  with  a  serious  air,  '  Let 
us  see,  who  is  that  young  lady  at  Holden  whom  you  hope 
to  secure  for  a  more  permanent  room-mate  than  your  pres 
ent  one  ? '  On  telling  him,  with  all  honesty  and  frankness, 
and  perceiving  he  began  to  smile,  I  inquired,  'Who  told 
you  any  thing  about  it  ? '  He  immediately  replied,  '  You 
yourself  have  just  told  me,  and  I  thank  you.'  And  so, 
after  mutual  congratulations,  we  both  of  us  went  on  our 
way  rejoicing. 


54  FORTY   YEARS   IN    THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

"This  excellent  lady  I  led  away  from  her  native 
land  in  1822.  And  now  I  have  brought  her  back,  almost, 
if  not  quite,  as  good  as  new !  '  Goodness  and  mercy  have 
indeed  followed  us  all  the  days  of  our  life,  and  we  hope  to 
dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  for  ever.'  And  there  may 
our  nine  children  and  our  children's  children,  with  all  our 
Eastern  friends  also,  dwell  for  ever  with  us !  Had  the 
Prophet  Samuel  been  present  with  his  horn  of  oil  on  our 
first  introduction  to  each  other,  he  would,  doubtless,  have 
heard  the  words  (with  the  pronouns  altered)  which  he 
heard  upon  first  seeing  the  youthful  and  ruddy  David, 
*  Arise,  anoint  her,  for  this  is  she.' " 

Although  he  was  apparently  disposed  to  refer  a  matter 
of  so  much  importance  to  himself  as  the  choice  of  a  com 
panion  for  life  wholly  to  the  divine  decrees,  he  did  not 
seem  quite  so  scrupulous  in  regard  to  the  marriage  of  another. 
The  letter  which  follows,  the  last  he  ever  wrote,  shows  that 
he  was  not  unwilling  to  be  an  instrument  in  the  hands  of 
Providence  in  promoting  the  happiness  arid  usefulness  of  a 
fellow-missionary,  and  so  of  helping  to  execute  the  divine 
decrees. 

"  Among  those  associated  with  Mr.  Temple  and  myself 
in  that  sacred  secret  society  at  Andover  were  Bingham 
and  Thurston.  They  belonged  to  the  class  before  us  in 
the  Seminary,  and  were  already  designated  to  be  the  pio 
neers  of  the  mission  to  the  Sandwich  Islands.  Early  in 
September,  1819,  the  Prudential  Committee,  hearing  of 
a  good  opportunity  in  the  brig  '  Thaddeus,'  directed  these 
brethren  to  complete  all  their  arrangements  and  repair  to 
Goshen  in  Connecticut  for  ordination,  and  hold  themselves 
in  readiness  to  embark  on  the  very  shortest  notice.  But 
those  brethren  were  still  in  the  Theological  Seminary; 
nor  would  their  studies  terminate  before  the  middle  of  the 
month,  and  of  course  they  had  very  many  arrangements  to 


GETTING    A   WIFE   FOR   A    FRIEND.  55 

make,  the  most  important  of  which  they  had  considered 
already  settled.  But,  alas !  at  this  the  last  moment  the 
mothers  of  both  the  young  ladies  who  had  engaged  to  accom 
pany  our  brethren  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  interfered  and 
refused  to  let  their  daughters  go.  It  was  an  unexpected  and 
very  severe  trial  to  them,  and  a  time  of  great  sorrow 
and  deep  sympathy  to  us  all.  Something  must  be  done, 
and  that  speedily ;  but  there  seemed  to  be  no  time  to  accom 
plish  so  important  a  matter.  That  they  should  go  unpro 
vided  with  suitable  companions,  was  not  to  be  thought  of 
for  a  moment ;  for  they  were  not  expected  ever  to  return, 
nor  would  an  opportunity  of  sending  to  them  be  likely  to 
occur  (as  they  supposed)  oftener  than  once  in  twenty-five 
or  thirty  years,  while  the  voyage  itself  was  one  of  six  months' 
duration,  around  the  terribly  tempestuous  Cape  Horn.  We 
had  many  consultations  and  some  very  earnest  prayer-meet 
ings  on  the  subject.  The  result  was,  that  the  society 
clubbed  together  and  procured  for  me  a  fine  horse  that 
would  carry  me  full  ten  miles  an  hour,  and  sent  me  on,  if 
not  a  Quixotic,  yet  a  most  delicate  mission. 

"  Receiving  from  Mr.  Thurston  what  was  perhaps  equiva 
lent  to  a  carte-Uanche  in  regard  to  one  of  two  young  ladies 
whom  I  had  described  to  him,  I  started  early  one  morning 
and  '  streamed '  through  the  country  after  a  wife  for  a  poor 
destitute  brother,  being  borne  on  by  the  best  wishes  and 
fervent  prayers  of  the  whole  Theological  Seminary.  Re 
membering  that  i  the  King's  business  requires  haste,'  I 
1  saluted  no  man  by  the  way,'  but  galloped  on  to  the  accom 
plishment  of  my  work.  After  a  forty  miles'  ride  I  slackened 
my  pace,  and  put  up  my  horse  in  a  stable  in  one  of  the 
principal  towns  of  Massachusetts.  And  though  unsuccessful 
there,  yet  fully  believing  in  the  perseverance  of  the  saints, 
and  being  thoroughly  persuaded  that  what  hath  been  fore 
ordained  will  surely  come  to  pass,  early  next  day  I  turned 
my  horse's  head  and  partly  retraced  my  steps,  though  not 
by  the  same  road,  to  a  school-house,  where  I  knew  a  distant 


56  FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

relative  of  mine  was  teaching,  some  twelve  miles  from  her 
father's  house. 

"  Dismounting  and  hitching  my  horse,  I  bolted  into  the 
school-room,  and,  not  having  much  time  for  any  long  con 
ference,  I  opened  my  business  at  once.  Well,  after  a  brief 
introduction  of  my  errand,  I  told  her  I  knew  she  had  often 
thought  of  the  subject  of  missions,  and  had  decided  long  ago 
whether  she  herself  would  go  on  a  mission,  if  she  had  a  good 
opportunity.  The  only  question,  therefore,  for  her  to  decide 
upon  in  this  case  would  be,  '  Wilt  thou  go  with  this  man  ?  ' 
Having  described  to  her  his  character  and  appearance  as  well 
as  I  could  (the  days  of  photographs  had  not  yet  come),  I 
added :  *  After  all,  there  are  ten  thousand  little  things,  and 
thousands  of  little  matters  of  taste,  which  no  one  can  decide 
for  you.  You  must  decide  them  for  yourself.  And  you 
shall  have  the  opportunity.  Next  week  is  the  anniversary 
at  Andover,  and  the  next  day  Mr.  Thurston  will  start  to  go 
to  the  ordination  in  Connecticut.  Your  father's  house  is  on 
the  way.  I  will  accompany  him,  and  spend  the  night  under 
your  roof ;  and  you  will  have  an  opportunity  of  becoming 
acquainted  with  him.  No  person  ever  need  know  the  object 
of  our  stopping  there  overnight,  nor  need  you  feel  under 
any  obligation  to  encourage  his  suit  in  consequence  of  any 
thing  I  have  said,  or  in  consequence  of  your  meeting  him.' 

"  Had  she,  Priscilla  like,  asked,  '  Why  don't  you  speak  for 
yourself,  John  ? '  the  natural  answer  would  have  been,  John 
is  already  provided  for.  On  her  agreeing  to  this,  and  after 
I  had,  Eleazer  like,  lifted  up  my  heart,  I  rode  to  see  her 
father.  He  replied  '  that  he  had  given  her  to  God  once,  and 
had  no  right  to  take  her  back  now.'  The  next  morning  I 
returned  to  Andover,  and,  '  having  gathered  the  disciples  to 
gether,  I  related  what  things  God  had  wrought  by  my  min 
istry.'  And  there  was  great  joy  among  the  brethren. 

"  On  the  day  appointed,  I  took  Mr.  Thurston,  and  walked 
with  him  to  the  town  of  Marlborough.  The  sun  was  already 
sinking  in  the  western  woods  when  we  arrived,  and  all  the 


EXECUTING    THE    COMMISSION.  57 

front  windows  were  reflecting  his  rays  most  gloriously,  which 
I  took  for  a  good  omen.  We  knocked  at  the  door,  and  were 
soon  admitted,  when  lo  and  behold !  the  house  was  full  of 
people,  all  of  them  kinsfolk  and  acquaintances ;  for  they  had 
done  what  Cornelius  did  when  he  was  expecting  Peter,  not 
knowing  but  this  one,  called  Peter,  might  prove  to  be  the 
very  Messiah  himself.  Somewhat  startled,  we  bowed  rather 
nervously,  as  would  naturally  be  expected  under  the  cir 
cumstances.  Before  we  had  time  to  be  seated,  I  saw  the 
black-eyed  damsel  entering  from  a  door  at  the  other  end  of 
the  room ;  and,  making  my  way  through  the  crowd,  I  took 
her  hand,  and  said,  i  How  do  you  do,  cousin?'  I  then 
stepped  back,  and  drawing  Mr.  Thurston,  nolens  volens, 
through  the  throng,  I  put  his  hand  in  hers,  as  much  as  to  say, 
'  Behold  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord.  Behold  the  one  whom 
God  hath  chosen  to  be  the  companion  of  thy  life.' 

"  The  company  then  made  room  for  us  to  sit  down  ;  but  I 
must  confess  it  required  all  the  tact  I  possessed  to  relieve  the 
embarrassment  of  our  position,  and  introduce  pleasant  topics 
of  conversation.  To  whatever  point  I  turned,  keen  eyes 
were  fastened  on  my  poor  brother,  as  though  they  would 
read  his  very  thoughts.  I  tried  to  get  him  to  converse  on  a 
great  variety  of  subjects ;  but  the  words  strangely  stuck  in 
his  throat,  although  they  scarcely  amounted  to  more  than  a 
single  Yes  or  No !  I  tried  to  get  him  to  sing  with  me ;  but, 
although  one  of  Israel's  sweetest  singers,  his  voice  seemed  to 
come,  like  Jonah's,  out  of  the  whale's  belly,  rather  than  from 
his  own  blessed  throat.  It  was  a  most  awkward  position  for 
him  and  for  me  and  for  her  and  for  all  present.  On  looking 
back  to  all  the  circumstances,  I  think,  however,  it  was  ad 
mirably  managed. 

"  At  an  early  hour  the  company  began  to  disperse,  and  we 
were  soon  left  alone  with  the  young  lady.  We  now  almost 
began  to  wish  some  of  our  friends  would  return ;  for  we  were 
at  first  more  confused  than  ever  to  know  what  to  say  and  do 
next,  and  really  began  to  tremble  at  the  sound  of  our  own 


58  FORTY   YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

voices.  This  was,  however,  but  momentary.  There  were 
too  many  important  points  to  be  settled  that  night  for  any 
time  to  be  lost ;  and,  finding  my  efforts  to  remove  the  embar 
rassment  of  the  two  parties  crowned  with  success,  I  retired 
hopefully  to  my  slumbers. 

"  The  next  morning  I  was  directed  to  go  to  the  town-clerk, 
and  get  him  to  publish  far  and  near  '  that  marriage  was  in 
tended  between  the  Rev.  Asa  Thurston  and  Miss  Lucy 
Goodale.'  As  there  would  not  be  three  Sabbaths  before  the 
time  of  their  embarkation  in  which  to  publish  the  banns 
(which  the  laws  of  Massachusetts  required),  I  requested  him 
to  make  use  of  three  town  meetings,  which  occurring  the 
next  week  would  fulfil  all  the  requirements  of  the  law.  I 
then  hastened  to  Boston  to  get  her  outfit ;  and  this  included 
not  only  what  was  necessary  for  a  six  months'  voyage,  but  a 
complete  stock  of  clothing  for  a  whole  lifetime,  as  it  was  not 
supposed  possible  ever  to  send  back  for  any  thing.  Miss  Fran 
ces  Irving,  of  Boston,  an  active  and  intelligent  Christian  lady, 
did  all  this  business  for  me.  I  accompanied  her  solely  to 
pay  the  bills  and  carry  the  parcels.  I  then  returned  to 
Marlborough  with  all  this  abundance  of  material,  calling  on 
every  praying  widow  in  the  neighborhood,  and  employing 
every  woman,  old  and  young,  to  drop  their  own  work,  how 
ever  urgent,  and  make  up  these  garments  I  had  brought,  in 
order  to  have  them  in  readiness  by  a  certain  day  the  next 
week,  when  I  promised  to  call  for  them. 

"  Having  thus  put  all  these  things  in  train,  and  appointed 
the  wedding  day,  I  resigned  my  commission  and  laid  down 
my  office,  being  fully  determined,  in  my  own  mind,  never 
again  to  engage  in  so  fearfully  responsible  a  business.  Tha' 
in  this  case  I  acted  right  is  beyond  doubt,  for  it  was  one  oi 
necessity  and  mercy.  It  was  under  extraordinary  circum 
stances,  and  not  to  be  judged  of  by  common  rules.  The 
union  proved  a  comfort  and  a  blessing  to  the  parties  con 
cerned.  In  various  letters  from  both  of  them  they  are  not 
slow  to  acknowledge  the  good  hand  of  God  upon  them,  and 


59 

to  acknowledge  also  their  indebtedness  to  me  for  my  zeal 
and  agency  in  the  case.  Although  this  fashion  may  do 
among  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe,  yet  it  is  hardly  to  be 
recommended  to  missionaries.  What  if  the  union  had  not 
proved  a  happy  one  ?  Alas !  alas !  it  almost  makes  me 
shudder  now  to  think  of  it. 

"  Every  thing  being  thus  happily  arranged,  I  went  on  with 
Mr.  Thurston  to  the  ordination.  We  found  Mr.  Bingham 
already  there ;  but  he  was  still  unblest.  People  from  far  and 
near  came  to  attend  the  ordination,  and  the  hospitality  of 
the  Goshenites  was  taxed,  though  not  beyond  the  power  of 
endurance.  Among  others  who  came  directly  to  the  parson 
age,  to  be  shown  where  they  would  find  accommodations,  was 
Miss  Sibyl  Mosely,  who  had  been  teaching  a  very  important 
select  school  in  Canandaigua.  She,  with  a  younger  sister, 
drove  up  in  a  buggy ;  and  the  kind  minister  not  being  success 
ful  in  pointing  out  the  road  to  a  good  deacon's  with  whom 
they  were  to  be  housed,  Mr.  Bingham,  who  stood  on  the 
door-steps,  at  once  offered  to  drive  them  over,  as  he  had 
been  there  the  day  before.  This  was  his  first  interview  with 
Miss  Sibyl  Mosely ;  but  it  is  to  be  inferred  that  it  was  by  no 
means  the  last,  for  within  a  brief  week  this  excellent  lady 
became  Mrs.  Bingham !  As  they  were  not  under  the  laws 
of  Massachusetts,  which  required  intention  of  marriage  to 
be  published  three  weeks,  they  hastened  down  to  Dr.  Hawes's 
lecture-room,  in  Hartford,  Conn.,  and  were  married  at  once, 
and  then  hurried  on  to  Boston  to  embark.  Mr.  Thurston 
a'ad  myself  returned  to  Marlborough  in  time  for  the  wed 
ding,  and  immediately  after  the  ceremony  we  accompanied 
them  to  Boston.  Henry  Homes,  Esq.,  had  already  given 
notice  that  he  would  entertain  us  ;  so  we  drove  directly  to  the 
court  where  his  house  stood.  This  was  my  first  introduction  to 
his  very  pleasant  family.  Our  stay  here  was  longer  than  had 
been  expected ;  for,  although  the  captain  had  been  very  anx 
ious  lest  we  should  not  be  in  time,  we  had  to  wait  several 
days  for  him  to  get  ready.  In  the  mean  while  we  attended 


60  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

many  interesting  meetings,  and  sung  many  precious  hymns  ; 
for  Mr.  Thurston's  voice  had  again  become,  as  in  former 
days,  most  sweet  and  captivating.  At  length,  on  Saturday, 
Oct.  23,  1819,  we  were  all  summoned  to  assemble  on  the 
Long  Wharf,  to  unite  in  religious  services  preparatory  to  the 
last  farewell.  In  the  reports  of  the  Board,  which  were  pub 
lished,  we  have  the  following :  — 

" '  The  assembly  united  in  singing  "  Blest  be  the  tie  that 
binds."  A  fervent  and  affectionate  prayer  was  offered  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Worcester ;  a  closing  address  was  made  by  Hopoo, 
a  young  convert  from  the  Sandwich  Islands ;  and  Messrs. 
Bingham  and  Thurston,  assisted  by  an  intimate  Christian 
friend,  sung  with  perfect  composure-,  "  When  shall  we  all  meet 
again?"  A  fourteen-oared  barge,  politely  offered  by  the 
commanding  officer  of  the  Independence  74,  was  in  waiting ; 
the  members  of  the  mission  took  leave  of  their  weeping 
friends,  and  were  speedily  conveyed  on  board  the  brig 
"  Thaddeus."  They  were  accompanied  by  the  committee  and 
other  particular  friends.  In  a  short  time  the  vessel  weighed 
anchor,  and  dropped  into  the  lower  harbor,  and  the  next  day, 
the  wind  and  tide  favoring,  put  to  sea.  To  the  favor  arid 
protection  of  that  God  "  who  maketh  the  clouds  His  chariot,  and 
walketh  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind"  this  little  band  is  com 
mended  by  many  prayers.' " 

Under  date  of  Sept.  6,  1818,  he  makes  mention  of  his 
first  attempt  to  conduct  the  worship  of  the  sanctuary :  — 

**  To-day,  for  the  first  time,  I  entered  the  sacred  desk  at  Dra- 
cut.  In  the  morning  I  read  a  sermon  from  these  words,  '  The 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me,  because  the  Lord  hath 
anointed  me  to  proclaim  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord,  and 
the  day  of  vengeance  of  our  God ;  '  and  in  the  afternoon  from 
these  words,  'This  is  my  Beloved,  and  this  is  my  friend,  O 
daughters  of  Jerusalem  ; '  both  Cooper's  sermons.  Five  per 
sons  were  propounded  for  admission  into  the  church,  whom  I 
assisted  in  examining  the  day  previous.  I  was  enabled  to  go 
through  the  exercises  with  some  degree  of  satisfaction  to  myself, 
and,  if  I  mistake  not,  to  general  acceptance.  Whenever  I 
attempt  to  preach  the  everlasting  Gospel,  may  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  God  rest  upon  me,  '  the  Spirit  of  counsel  and  might,  the 
Spirit  of  knowledge  and  of  the  fear  of  the  Lord:  '  and  may  my 
labors  be  ever  attended  with  a  divine  blessing;  and  may  I  have 
the  unspeakable  joy  of  introducing  many  into  the  fold  of  Christ. " 


ELIZABETH    ADAMS.  61 

Another  extract  from  his  journal,  showing  his  fidelity  and 
wisdom  in  leading  souls  to  Christ,  is  interesting  also  as  an 
illustration  of  the  phases  of  spiritual  experience  through 
which  the  sinner  passes  in  coming  out  of  darkness  into  the 
light  of  the  Gospel :  first,  thinking  of  his  own  safety  ;  then, 
of  being  delivered  from  sin,  and  being  made  holy  ;  then,  de 
siring  to  know  more  of  God  and  of  His  excellency  ;  and,  at 
last,  losing  all  thoughts  of  self  in  an  earnest  desire  for  the 
salvation  of  others ;  which  last  is  one  of  the  clearest  evi 
dences  of  having  passed  from  death  unto  life.  The  person 
alluded  to  was  the  daughter  of  his  beloved  preceptor  at 
Phillips  Academy.  She  afterward  became  the  wife  of  Rev. 
George  Cowles,  who  was  several  years  pastor  of  the  First 
Church  in  Danvers,  Mass.  They  both  perished  in  the  wreck 
of  the  steam-packet  "  Home,"  near  Ocracoke,  N.  C.,  Oct.  9, 
1837.=* 

"  April  29,  1819.  As  I  have  had  occasion  to  converse  and 
pray  frequently  with  Elizabeth  Adams,  I  have  remarked  several 
distinct  and  important  eras  in  the  course  of  her  trials  of  mind. 
She  requested  me  to  pray,  — 

"1.  That  God  would  forgive  and  save  her.  This  request 
continued  three  or  four  days.  Then,  — 

"  2.  That  she  might  have  a  broken  heart  and  contrite  spirit, 
and  might  submit  to  God  unconditionally.  This  continued 
about  the  same  length  of  time. 

"  3.  That  she  might  know  more  of  God,  of  the  Saviour,  and 
of  herself.  This  for  several  days  has  been  her  request.  But 
to-day  — 

"4.  As  she  was  of  little  consequence,  and  as  she  did  not 
know  as  it  would  do  any  good  to  pray  for  her,  she  desired  me 
to  pray  for  her  brothers  and  sisters. 

"  May  she  soon  forget  herself,  and  embrace  the  world  in  her 
prayers." 

*  An  account  of  this  calamity,  by  which  ninety  out  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty  persons  on  board  were  lost,  published  at  the  time,  says  : 
"  When  last  seen,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cowles  were  reclining  side  by  side  on 
the  luggage,  and  a  kind  Providence  permitted  a  survivor  to  report,  as 
the  last  words  which  fell  from  the  lips  of  Mr.  Cowles,  '  He  that  trusts 
in  Jesus  is  safe,  even  in  the  perils  of  the  sea.' " 


62  FORTY   YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

DURING  the  vacations  of  the  Theological  Seminary  Mr. 
Goodell  gave  himself  to  evangelistic  labors,  going  out 
into  destitute  places  and  performing  the  work  of  a  home 
missionary,  visiting  from  house  to  house,  distributing  books 
and  tracts,  holding  religious  meetings,  and  exhorting  the 
people  on  the  subject  of  their  souls'  concerns.  One  of  his 
vacations  he  spent  on  the  island  of  Newcastle,  at  the  mouth 
of  Portsmouth  Harbor,  N.  H.,  of  which  he  gave  an  account 
in  a  letter  to  a  friend  at  the  time :  — 

"  Theological  Seminary,  June  23,  1819.  I  did  not  spend 
the  vacation  at  the  Isle  of  Shoals,  but  at  Newcastle,  which 
is  situated  at  the  entrance  of  Portsmouth  Harbor,  three  miles 
from  Portsmouth,  the  largest  of  those  islands  which  lie  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Piscataqua.  It  is  a  mile  long,  arid  a  mile 
broad;  was  incorporated  in  1693;  and  contains  a  meeting 
house,  a  school-house,  about  seventy  dwelling-houses,  one 
hundred  and  twenty  families,  arid  seven  hundred  inhabitants, 
exclusive  of  those  connected  with  Fort  Constitution.  The 
fort  and  light-house  are  at  the  north-east  extremity.  The 
first  minister  was  ordained  here  previous  to  1G89,  and  has 
been  succeeded  by  eight  or  nine  others.  Since  the  death  of 
the  last,  about  twenty  years  ago,  nothing  has  been  proposed 
by  any  person  which  would  have  the  least  tendency  to  reform 
the  morals  of  the  people  and  make  society  better.  Almost 
every  law  of  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  is  trampled  under 
foot.  Indeed,  the  place  has  had  all  the  corruptions,  without 
any  of  the  moral  advantages,  of  seaport  towns." 

He  had  hardly  entered  upon  his  work  at  this  place  before 
he  found  a  coadjutor  in  an  unexpected  quarter.  Colonel 
Wallack,  a  Roman  Catholic,  who  was  in  command  of  the 


LICENSED    TO    PREACH.  63 

fort  on  the  island,  warmly  seconded  his  efforts  for  the  relig 
ious  improvement  of  the  people,  attended  with  his  family 
the  public  services  which  Mr.  Goodell  had  inaugurated,  and 
required  all  the  soldiers  composing  the  garrison  to  attend. 
When  Mr.  Goodell  first  went  upon  the  island,  he  was  insulted 
by  the  boys  in  the  street ;  but  he  soon  organized  a  Sunday 
school,  gathering  these  boys  into  it ;  and  before  he  left  they 
treated  him  with  the  greatest  respect,  taking  off  their  hats 
and  saluting  him  with  two  or  three  bows  apiece  when  they 
met  him.  His  labors  here  were  attended  with  a  spiritual 
blessing,  a  number  receiving  religious  impressions'  that 
resulted  in  their  hopeful  conversion. 

Mr.  Goodell  was  licensed  to  preach  the  Gospel  by  the 
Kennebec  and  Somerset  Association,  at  Pittston,  Me.,  May 
10,  1820,  a  short  time  before  completing  his  studies  at 
Andover.  He  thus  records  the  preparation  of  his  first  writ 
ten  sermon :  — 

"  This  day  completed  and  commended  to  the  Saviour  my 
first  sermon.  Whenever  I  exhibit  it  in  public,  may  I  be 
enabled  by  divine  assistance  to  do  it  in  a  tender  and  impres 
sive  manner.  It  is  my  highest  satisfaction  to  lay  all  my 
attainments  at  the  feet  of  my  Redeemer,  and  to  say,  '  Here 
am  I,  and  here  are  my  preparations  ;  make  such  use  of  them 
as  thou  pleasest.  All  I  am  and  all  I  have  are  at  thy  dispo 
sal.  Thou  needest  not  my  services.  I  beg  the  privilege  of 
serving  thee.' " 

On  the  28th  of  July,  1820,  while  he  was  yet  at  the  The- 
olog;oal  Seminary,  he  wrote  to  the  Rev.  Pliny  Fisk,  then  at 
Smyrna :  — 

"What  will  become  of  Temple,  Bird,  and  myself  still 
remains  in  uncertainty.  We  have  had  no  communication 
with  the  Prudential  Committee,  but  contemplate  it  within  a 
week.  We  feel  ready  to  put  ourselves  under  their  direction  ; 
but  what  are  their  views  of  the  expediency  of  sending  out 
missionaries  to  Smyrna  immediately  we  do  not  know.  Dr. 
Woods  told  me  none  would  probably  be  sent  within  a  year, 
owing  principally  to  the  embarrassed  state  of  the  funds.  It 


64  FORTY   YEARS   IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

is  presumed  we  shall  be  employed  much  of  the  next  year  as 
agents,  —  business  in  which  we  are  truly  reluctant  to  engage, 
and  in  which  nothing  would  induce  us  to  engage  but  the 
importance  of  that  cause  which  it  is  designed  to  promote.  .  .  . 
In  the  Middle  Class  we  cannot  calculate  upon  more  than  two 
good  missionaries ;  in  the  Junior  Class  three  are  '  brethren,' 
and  two  or  three  more  will  probably  soon  join  the  associa 
tion.  We  are  now  about  preparing  some  missionary  tracts, 
to  be  published  as  soon  as  funds  sufficient  for  the  purpose 
can  be  raised,  and  to  be  distributed  in  connection  with  tracts 
of  the  New  England  Tract  Society,  with  this  difference  only, 
—  that  they  will  be  distributed  gratuitously.  We  have  it  in 
contemplation  also  to  have  a  missionary  almanac,  to  be  dis 
tributed  gratuitously  or  sold  at  a  very  reduced  price.  O 
Brother  Fisk  !  I  would  never  go  among  the  Turks  were  they 
not  embraced  in  those  blessed  promises  which  relate  to  the 
unirersal  extension  of  the  Gospel.  I  should  not  dare  to  take 
one  step  forward,  had  not  the  Saviour  said,  '  Lo,  I  am  with 
you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world.'  And  still  I 
feel  that  if  I  had  as  many  bodies  as  there  are  missionary 
establishments,  one  body  should  be  worn  out  at  each  station. 
Pray  that  God  may  give  me  grace  to  employ  my  one  poor 
self  wholly  and  faithfully  in  His  service.  Our  views  are 
directed  to  that  quarter  of  the  globe  where  you  are  gone ; 
and  our  daily  prayer  is  that  our  Redeemer  would  permit  us 
to  go  and  serve  Him  to  the  end  of  our  days  among  the  hea 
then." 

After  his  mind  had  been  fully  made  up  to  devote  himself 
to  the  missionary  service,  he  wrote :  — 

"  I  used  to  think  of  great  trials,  —  such  as  leaving  friends 
and  country,  being  burned  at  the  stake,  having  one's  head 
chopped  off,  &c.  I  now  think  less  of  these,  and  more  of  the 
ten  thousand  little  ones  that  will  occur  every  day  probably 
till  I  die.  God's  grace  will  be  sufficient  for  all." 

The  first  number  of  "The  Missionary,"  dated  May  21, 
1819,  has  an  elaborate  paper  from  his  pen  on  "  The  History 
and  Present  State  of  Armenia  as  a  Missionary  Field,"  em 
bodying  a  vast  amount  of  information  in  regard  to  the  state 
of  the  country,  and  the  religious  condition  of  the  people.  The 


ACCIDENT   AT    CATSKILL.  65 

paper  would  fill  a  small  volume,  and  was  evidently  the 
result  of  much  research. 

On  the  12th  of  August,  1820,  he  had  an  interview  with 
Dr.  Worcester  and  Mr.  Evarts,  which  resulted  in  his  making 
an  engagement  to  spend  a  year,  after  his  graduation  at  the 
Seminary,  in  visiting  the  churches  as  an  agent  of  the  Board, 
to  awaken  an  interest  in  the  cause  of  foreign  missions,  and  to 
raise  funds  for  the  prosecution  of  its  work.  On  the  28th 
of  September  he  recorded  in  affecting  words  the  parting 
with  his  classmates  at  Andover,  and  their  dispersion  into 
different  parts  of  the  great  vineyard. 

From  Andover  he  returned  to  Dartmouth  College,  to 
spend  the  remainder  of  the  year  attending  medical  lect 
ures,  to  prepare  himself  more  fully  for  his  future  labors. 
With  the  commencement  of  the  new  year  (1821)  he  entered 
upon  his  agency  for  the  Board.  Leaving  his  home  in 
New  England,  he  visited  a  number  of  towns  along  the 
Hudson  River.  Arriving  at  Catskill  about  the  first  of  March, 
he  met  with  an  accident  which  came  well-nigh  terminating 
his  earthly  labors,  but  which,  by  his  long  detention  at  this 
place,  was  overruled  to  the  awakening  of  a  deep  interest 
in  behalf  of  the  cause  which  he  came  to  plead.  As  he  was 
driving  down  a  steep  hill,  his  horse  became  unmanageable, 
ran,  and  threw  him  from  the  carriage.  His  ankle  was  badly 
sprained,  and  he  was  otherwise  severely  injured.  The  horse 
then  ran  over  a  poor  woman,  breaking  her  arm,  and  after 
wards  dashed  the  wagon  to  pieces.  In  a  letter  to  a  friend, 
a  few  days  after  the  accident,  he  gave  the  following  account 
of  it  and  of  his  condition  :  — 

"  There  was  indeed  but  a  step  between  me  and  death ; 
but  God  preserved  me.  On  the  very  spot  where  I  fell 
there  happened  to  be  a  little  snow ;  had  I  fallen  anywhere 
else  I  know  not  what  could  have  preserved  me. 

'  That  life  which  thou  hast  made  thy  care, 
Lord,  I  devote  to  thee.' 

"  I  have  every  possible  attention,  —  am  surrounded  by 
fathers  and  mothers,  brothers  and  sisters,  who  delight  to 


66  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

serve  me.  After  my  fall  I  was  immediately  carried  into 
the  house  of  Judge  Cooke,  who  and  his  wife  are  excellent 
Christians.  Two  of  his  children  have  recently  become  pious, 
and  others  of  them  are  inquiring  with  much  concern  about 
religion.  Both  my  physicians  are  devoted  Christians;  the 
servants  in  the  family  are  godly ;  and  the  whole  church 
are  praying  for  my  speedy  and  perfect  restoration.  Some 
of  the  best  people  in  the  world  are  here.  I  would  rather 
break  my  bones  in  this  place  than  almost  anywhere  else 
I  know  of. 

"  As  I  could  not  bear  the  thought  of  idleness,  I  yesterday 
took  charge  of  the  Female  Academy,  the  instructor  being 
sick.  I  have  between  twenty  and  thirty  young  ladies ;  half 
of  them  are  pious,  and  several  of  the  others  not  far  from  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  As  I  can  get  round  a  little  by  the 
aid  of  crutches,  I  assure  you  I  scatter  missionary  seed  with 
an  unsparing  hand.  It  is  a  good  time  now ;  the  Spirit  of 
God  is  poured  out,  and  the  fallow  ground  is  broken  up. 
Since  I  wrote  last  the  good  work,  both  here  and  at  Hudson, 
has  rapidly  increased ;  but  the  opposition  in  the  latter  place 
exceeds  all  I  ever  before  heard  of.  Tracts  and  pamphlets, 
dialogues  and  essays,  are  constantly  issuing  from  the  press 
filled  with  blasphemy.  The  whole  city  is  in  an  uproar. 
The  convicted  and  converted  are  assailed  from  every  quarter 
with  ridicule  and  threats,  and  sometimes  with  blows." 

The  Rev.  David  Porter,  D.D.,  of  precious  memory, 
the  friend  of  revivals  and  of  missions,  was  pastor  of  the 
church  at  Catskill.  Among  his  parishioners  was  the  Hon. 
Thomas  B.  Cooke,  into  whose  house  Mr.  Goodell  was 
providentially  thrown,  and  who  became  deeply  interested 
in  the  cause  to  which  his  guest  had  devoted  his  life.  He 
entered  into  a  contract  to  contribute  to  the  funds  of  the 
American  Board  fifty  dollars  a  year,  on  condition  that  Mr. 
Goodell  should  send  him  an  annual  letter,  whatever  part 
of  the  world  might  be  his  home.  This  contract  was  faith 
fully  fulfilled  by  both  parties,  until  the  death  of  Judge 
Cooke,  which  occurred  more  than  thirty  years  after.  We 
have  before  us  a  large  number  of  the  letters,  which,  with 
a  single  exception,  were  written  on  the  1st  of  January  in 
each  year. 


LETTER   TO   JUDGE   COOKE.  67 

One  of  these,  dated  at  Constantinople,  January  1,  1834 
(thirteen  years  after),  is  here  inserted,  and  others  will  follow 
under  their  respective  dates  :  — 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Amidst  the  bustle  and  the  ten  thousand 
compliments,  not  to  say  white  lies,  with  which  the  new  year 
in  these  countries  is  always  ushered  in,  I  never  fail  to  remem 
ber  you  and  my  dear  friends  and  benefactors  at  Catskill.  *  I 
was  hungry,  and  ye  fed  me ;  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  drink  ; 
a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  in ;  sick,  and  ye  visited  me/ 
watched  with  me,  gave  me  medicine,  and  with  the  blessing 
of  God  cured  me.  And  this,  I  doubt  not,  ye  did  (at  least  in 
some  measure)  '  in  the  name  of  a  disciple.'  You  received  me 
as  a  '  messenger  of  the  churches.'  You  thought  I  belonged 
to  Christ,  and  you  received  me  as  His  servant,  and  as  though 
you  expected  I  should  make  a  report  to  Him  of  your  hospi 
tality,  of  your  habitual  feelings  toward  Him,  and  conduct 
toward  His  ministers.  I  always  wonder  that  those  who 
know  and  love  Christ  should  ever  take  me  as  having  any 
part  or  portion  in  Him ;  and  my  soul  is  humbled  within  me 
when  I  think  of  the  thousand  kindnesses  I  have  received 
from  you  and  other  friends  of  Christ  in  America.  But  He, 
He  is  worthy  of  all  the  attentions  which  you  and  others 
have  ever  shown  me  for  His  dear  sake.  He  is  worthy  of  all 
the  money,  books,  clothes,  time,  influence,  every  precious 
thing  you  have  ever  given  Him,  and  every  precious  thing 
you  have  not  yet  given  Him.  In  the  estimation  of  the  '  ten 
thousand  times  ten  thousand  round  about  the  throne,'  who 
know  immeasurably  better  than  we  do,  He  is  worthy,  infi 
nitely  worthy,  to  receive  it  all.  Let  all,  then,  be  consecrated 
to  Him,  —  '  power,  riches,  wisdom,  strength,  honor,'  —  what 
ever  can  in  any  way  be  employed  in  His  service.  When  we 
get  to  heaven,  we  shall  for  ever  wish  Him  to  have  the  whole, 
our  hearts  and  all.  And,  my  dear  sir,  if  you  and  yours,  and 
we  and  ours,  ever  go  there,  we  shall  be  there  sooner  by  one 
year  than  when  I  last  wrote  you.  Let  us,  then,  be  f  girding 
up  the  loins  of  our  mind,'  and  be  '  looking  for  that  blessed 
hope,  and  the  glorious  appearing  of  the  great  God  and  our 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ.' " 

In  a  letter  to  Judge  Cooke,  written  from  Constantinople, 
January  1,  1836,  he  made  the  following  mention  of  the  one 
who  was  injured  at  the  same  time  with  himself :  — 


68  FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE.  ^ 

"  The  poor  unfortunate  woman  who  was  passing,  and  was 
knocked  down  and  run  over,  and  in  the  most  imminent  danger 
of  being  killed,  I  do  not  forget.  I  was  sorry  to  have  been  even 
the  innocent  cause  of  pain  and  trouble  to  her;  but  it  was  all 
ordered  by  Him  who  cannot  err  in  judgment,  or  be  resisted  in 
the  execution  of  His  will.  If  she  be  living,  will  you  remember 
me  to  her  very  kindly ;  and  will  you  say  to  her  that  I  hope  neither 
of  us  will  be  crushed,  but  both,  of  us  escape,  when  the  world, 
instead  of  my  poor  horse  and  wagon,  shall  '  flee  away,  and  be 
no  more  found.'  " 

When  sufficiently  recovered  from  his  injuries  to  leave 
Catskill,  he  travelled  westward  in  the  State  of  New  York,  a 
large  portion  of  which  was  then  comparatively  unsettled. 
From  Whitesborough,  near  Utica,  he  wrote :  — 

"May  25, 1821.  In  the  last  four  Sabbaths  I  have  preached 
three  times  each  day,  and  sometimes  once  or  twice  a  day 
during  the  week.  The  missionary  pulse  beats  high  in  this 
region.  In  one  town  five  acres  of  land  have  been  conse 
crated  for  five  years  to  be  cultivated  for  missionary  purposes. 
In  another,  one  man  has  resolved  to  cultivate  one  acre  for 
the  Lord  as  long  as  he  lives.  In  another,  a  man  told  me  he 
would  give  some  land  to  be  cultivated  in  this  way  as  long  as 
the  sun  shines  and  the  water  runs." 

Rochester,  N.  Y.,  at  that  time  was  a  small  village,  having 
one  Presbyterian  Church  of  less  than  a  hundred  members. 
In  this  church  he  preached  the  first  missionary  sermon  ever 
heard  in  the  place.  An  aged  resident  sends  the  following 
reminiscence  of  the  occasion :  — 

"  Notice  was  given  that  a  missionary  sermon  would  be 
preached  by  Rev.  William  Goodell.  A  prominent  man  in 
the  congregation  was  much  opposed  to  foreign  missions,  and 
declared  he  would  not  give  a  cent  to  any  of  these  beggars, 
'and  got  up  quite  an  excitement  on  the  subject.  After  the 
sermon  a  collection  was  taken  up ;  and  at  the  close  of  the 
services,  while  the  officers  of  the  church  were  counting  the 
money,  this  opposer  came  up  to  the  table,  and  exclaimed,  '  I 
thought  I  put  all  I  had  into  the  bag,  but  here  is  some  more. 
After  such  a  sermon,  who  could  help  giving  ? ' ': 

Travelling  westward  into  the  States  of  Ohio  and  Indiana, 


VISITING   THE  INDIAN   MISSIONS.  69 

he  found  in  many  places  an  unexpected  interest  in  the  cause 
of  missions  to  the  dark  portions  of  the  world,  the  result  of  a 
gracious  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  upon  the  churches  of  that 
comparatively  new  region  of  country;  but  in  other  places 
ther.e  was  literally  a  famine  for  the  bread  of  life,  and  the 
Gospel  message  which  he  carried  to  them  was  heard  with 
gladness.  He  wrote  at  the  time  (Feb.  18,  1822):  "There 
are  but  two  settled  ministers,  of  the  Presbyterian  or  Congre 
gational  order,  in  the  whole  State  of  Indiana.  I  preached 
in  one  place  where  some  of  the  people  said  they  had  heard 
but  three  sermons  from  Presbyterians  there  before." 

While  in  the  West,  he  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Evarts, 
Secretary  of  the  Board,  stating  that  it  was  the  wish  of  the 
Prudential  Committee  that  he  should  extend  his  journey  to  the 
Indian  missions  in  the  South-west.  Leaving  the  Ohio  River, 
he  travelled  on  horseback  through  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and 
Alabama,  much  of  the  way  through  the  wilderness.  At 
Columbus,  Miss.,  he  was  detained  a  number  of  days  by  a 
flood.  Here  he  gathered  the  scattered  families  from  day  to 
day,  breaking  to  them  the  bread  of  life,  while  the  waters 
prevented  his  progress,  and  then  made  his  way  through  the 
flood,  sometimes  wading,  sometimes  on  horseback,  and  some 
times  in  a  log-canoe,  until  at  length  he  reached  Mayhew,  a 
station  among  the  Choctaw  Indians,  where  he  received  a 
hearty  welcome,  and  where  he  greatly  enjoyed  the  physical, 
but  still  more  the  spiritual,  rest  among  the  people  of  God, 
some  of  whom  a  short  time  before  were  savages.  From 
Mayhew  he  went  to  Elliot,  another  station,  one  hundred  miles 
west,  where  he  was  hailed  with  the  same  delight  by  the  mis 
sionaries,  one  of  whom  wrote  to  the  Board  of  the  "  rare  and 
precious  privilege  "  they  had  enjoyed  "  of  welcoming  one 
who  has  just  come  from  visiting  a  great  number  of  the 
churches,  and  who  is  expecting  one  day  to  preach  the  Gospel 
at  Jerusalem."  After  the  death  of  Dr.  Goodell,  the  Rev. 
Cyrus  Byington,  who  was  at  Elliot  at  the  time  of  his  visit 
there,  and  who  had  previously  been  with  him  at  Andover 


70  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

Theological  Seminary,  wrote  a  touching  reminiscence  of  the 
visit,  recalling,  together  with  other  incidents,  the  text  of  the 
sermon  that  Mr.  Goodell  preached,  and  the  hymn  with  which 
the  services  were  opened  on  the  Sabbath,  — 

"  We  are  a  garden  walled  around, 
Chosen  and  made  peculiar  ground." 

Mr.  Evarts,  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Board,  was  at 
Brainard  when  Mr.  Goodell  visited  that  station,  and  they 
left  together  on  the  morning  of  May  21,  1822,  on  their  jour 
ney  to  the  North. 


HIS   ORDINATION.  71 


CHAPTER  V. 

IN  September,  1822,  the  annual  meeting  of  the  American 
Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions  was  held 
at  New  Haven,  Conn.  The  Board  convened  early  on  the 
morning  of  the  12th,  and  then  adjourned  to  take  part  in  the 
ordination  services,  which,  by  previous  arrangement,  were  to 
be  held  at  ten  o'clock.  William  Goodell,  destined  to  the 
mission  in  Palestine,  William  Richards  and  Artemas  Bishop, 
who  were  to  join  the  mission  at  the  Sandwich  Islands,  were 
then  set  apart  to  the  work  of  the  Gospel  ministry.  The  ser 
mon  on  the  occasion  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Mil 
ler,  D.D.,  of  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  from  Isaiah 
Ixi.  4:  "And  they  shall  build  the  old  wastes;  they  shall 
raise  up  the  former  desolations ;  and  they  shall  repair  the 
waste  cities,  the  desolations  of  many  generations."  The 
prayer  of  ordination  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  Joseph  Lyman, 
of  Hatfield,  Mass. ;  the  Charge  to  the  missionaries  was  by 
the  Rev.  Abel  Flint,  of  Hartford ;  and  the  Rev.  Joel  Hawes, 
of  Hartford,  expressed  to  them  the  fellowship  of  the  churches. 
The  Ordination  took  place  under  the  authority  of  a  council 
of  neighboring  churches.  After  a  recess  of  half  an  hour  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  administered,  a  large 
congregation  of  communicants  joining  in  the  celebration. 

On  the  19th  of  November,  1822,  Rev.  William  Goodell 
was  married  at  Holden,  Mass.,  to  Miss  Abigail  Perkins 
Davis,  daughter  of  the  Hon.  Lemuel  Davis,  of  Holden.* 

*  Her  grandfather,  Rev.  Joseph  Davis,  was  ordained  Dec.  22, 1742, 
as  the  first  pastor  of  the  church  at  Holden,  on  the  day  of  its  organiza 
tion,  and  continued  his  ministry  in  the  same  place  more  than  thirty 
years.  Since  the  organization  of  the  American  Board  this  church 
has  sent  out  nine  foreign  missionaries. 


72  FORTY   YEARS   IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

The  beloved  wife  of  his  youth  was  the  cherished  companion 
of  his  whole  subsequent  life,  the  faithful  and  efficient  helper 
in  all  his  labors,  and  such  an  earthly  consolation  and  joy  as 
is  rarely  given  to  man  in  this  vale  of  tears.  In  his  Remi 
niscences,  with  which  this  volume  opens,  he  penned,  only  the 
week  before  his  translation  to  a  better  world,  a  beautiful 
tribute  to  her  exalted  worth ;  and  it  will  not  be  inappropri 
ate  to  insert  in  this  place  an  extract  from  a  letter  which  he 
wrote  on  the  tenth  anniversary  of  their  marriage. 

"  Constantinople,  November  19, 1832.  Ten  years  ago  to-day 
the  tenderest  of  all  unions  known  in  this  world  was  formed, 
or  rather  was  then  publicly  recognized;  and,  through  the 
kind  providence  of  God,  this  union,  which  we  know  must 
sooner  or  later  be  dissolved,  has  been  preserved  to  this  hour. 
On  the  sea  and  on  the  land,  in  fire  and  tempest,  in  pestilence 
and  war,  our  Heavenly  Father  has  suffered  no  evil  to  befall 
us,  but  in  tender  mercy  He  has  continued  us  a  comfort  and  a 
blessing  to  each  other,  and  has  permitted  us  to  bring  thus  far 
on  their  way  through  the  wilderness  the  children  whom  He 
has  graciously  given  us.  What  shall  we  render  to  Him  for 
all  His  benefits  ? 

"  Mr.  Dwight,  with  whose  family  we  are  now  living,  tried 
his  best  to  get  a  turkey  for  the  anniversary,  but,  not  succeed 
ing,  he  sent  for  a  quarter  of  beef ;  and,  failing  in  this,  the 
cook,  by  chance  or  design,  prepared  us  a  dinner  of  sheep's 
liver,  which  coming,  as  you  know,  from  the  region  of  the 
heart,  answered  the  purpose  admirably.  I  doubt  whether 
even  Elijah  made  a  better  meal  from  what  the  angels  cooked 
in  heaven.  Surely  we  can  say,  '  Goodness  and  mercy  have 
thus  far  followed  us  all  the  days  of  our  life,'  and  we  hope 
we  shall  hereafter  go  and  *  dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord 
for  ever.' " 

A  few  days  after  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Goodell 
were  summoned  to  New  York  to  embark  in  the  vessel  in 
which  passage  had  been  engaged  for  them  and  for  Rev.  Isaac 
Bird  and  wife,  designated  to  the  same  mission.  Mr.  Goodell 
preached  in  the  Murray  Street  Church  on  Sabbath  afternoon, 
December  1,  from  Matt.  xvi.  2,  3,  on  "The  Signs  of  the 
Times,"  Rev.  Dr.  Romeyn  and  Rev.  Mr.  Whelpley  taking  part 


EMBARKING    FOR   THE   EAST.  73 

in  the  services.  Mr.  Bird  preached  in  the  evening,  in  the  same 
church,  from  John  x.  16:  "Other  sheep  I  have  which  are 
not  of  this  fold."  On  Monday  evening,  several  congrega 
tions  united  in  the  monthly  concert  of  prayer  at  the  Middle 
Dutch  Church.  Mr.  Evarts,  Secretary  of  the  Board,  Rev. 
Dr.  MacAuley,  Rev.  S.  H.  Cox,  and  Rev.  Messrs.  Goodell 
and  Bird  took  part  in  the  exercises,  which  were  reported  in 
full  at  the  time.  Mr.  Goodell,  in  the  course  of  the  same 
week,  preached  in  the  churches  of  Rev.  Dr.  MacAuley,  Rev. 
Mr.  Matthews,  Rev.  Mr.  Whelpley,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Patton. 
On  Thursday,  the  day  appointed  for  annual  Thanksgiving 
in  the  State,  a  meeting  was  held  at  Rev.  Dr.  Romeyn's 
church,  in  Cedar  Street,  at  which  the  missionaries  received 
their  final  instructions  from  the  Corresponding  Secretary  of 
the  Board.  They  were  appointed  to  join  the  mission  in 
Palestine.  A  sermon  was  preached  on  this  occasion  by  Rev. 
Mr.  Bird. 

Late  on  the  following  Sunday  evening,  after  having 
attended  public  services,  they  were  summoned  to  go  on  board 
the  brig  "  Shepherdess."  The  departure  of  a  band  of  mission 
aries  for  a  far-distant  land  awakened  at  that  time  far  deeper 
interest  than  at  the  present  day.  Thirty  or  forty  friends, 
who  had  heard  at  the  close  of  the  evening  service  of  the 
summons  which  they  had  received,  assembled  at  ten  o'clock 
at  the  house  of  Mr.  Moses  Allen,  where  they  had  been  hos 
pitably  entertained  during  their  sojourn  in  the  city,  and  after 
engaging  in  religious  services,  conducted  by  the  Correspond 
ing  Secretary,  accompanied  them  to  the  ship.  Nor  did  they 
say  farewell  until  they  had  again  commended  the  missionary 
band  in  prayer  to  the  grace  of  God.  Early  on  the  morning 
of  the  9th  the  vessel  sailed. 

When  these  missionaries  left  the  shores  of  their  native 
land,  they  had  "  set  their  faces  to  go  to  Jerusalem."  The 
Syria  mission  had  been  established  by  Rev.  Pliny  Fisk  and 
Rev.  Levi  Parsons,  who  left  this  country  in  1819.  On  the 
death  of  Mr.  Parsons,  which  occurred  at  Alexandria,  Feb.  10, 
4 


74  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

1822,  Rev.  Jonas  King,  who  was  then  studying  Oriental 
languages  at  Paris,  offered  his  services  to  the  Board  for 
three  years,  to  supply  the  place  of  the  lamented  Parsons,  and 
reached  Palestine  in  April,  1823.  Messrs.  Goodell  and 
Bird  with  their  wives  expected  not  only  to  enter  the  Holy 
Land,  but  to  take  up  their  residence  in  the  Holy  City,  doing 
the  work  of  their  divine  Master  on  the  spot  that  had  been 
consecrated  by  the  labors  of  his  life,  and  by  his  death. 

On  the  21st  of  January,  1823,  the  "  Shepherdess,"  after  a 
pleasant  and  prosperous  voyage,  arrived  at  the  island  of 
Malta ;  and  they  were  soon  at  home  with  the  Rev.  Daniel 
Temple,  who  had  preceded  them.  As  they  were  to  spend 
several  months  at  this  place,  in  the  study  of  the  languages 
of  the  East  and  in  the  work  of  translation  and  printing, 
they  found  it  necessary  to  take  a  larger  house,  of  which 
Mr.  Goodell  made  mention  in  his  usual  style  :  — 

"  February  25, 1823.  We  all  removed  this  day  to  Strada  Reale, 
No.  187.  This  house  is  much  larger  and  much  more  conven 
ient  for  our  printing-press,  our  chapel,  and  our  own  apart 
ments  than  the  other.  To  the  Saviour  would  we  consecrate 
all  these  rooms,  with  all  their  furniture;  especially  the  chapel, 
with  its  desk,  its  seats,  its  candlesticks,  and  snuffers.  May 
the  Saviour  have  free  access  to  every  room,  and  here  take  up 
His  abode!" 

Malta  was  then  a  sort  of  school-house,  where  the  mission 
aries  bound  for  the  Orient  prepared  for  their  future  labors, 
and  from  which  they  made  some  aggressive  movements 
upon  the  kingdom  of  darkness.  February  13,  Mr.  Goodell 
wrote  from  Valetta :  — 

"  Malta  is  altogether  unlike  any  thing  we  ever  before  saw  or 
thought  of.  There  is  nothing  here  that  reminds  one  of  America. 
Every  thing  looks  more  like  romance  than  reality.  The  city 
is  full  of  people,  —  Jews,  Greeks,  Italians,  English,  Maltose,  &c. 
The  Maltese  are  most  numerous,  and  are  invariably  Roman 
Catholics.  The  Catholic  priests  pretend  to  forgive  all  sin 
except  the  unpardonable  sin  of  reading  the  Scriptures.  AVho- 
ever  is  guilty  of  perusing  the  Sacred  Volume  must  never 
expect  forgiveness,  unless  he  gives  the  priest  a  great  deal  of 
money  or  performs  some  extraordinary  penance.  Some  of  the 


AT   MALTA.  75 

people,  however,  have  become  so  bold  as  to  read  the  Bible  in 
defiance  of  priest  and  pope  ;  and  a  few,  it  is  hoped,  have  become 
truly  pious." 

At  a  later  date,  July  24,  he  wrote :  — 

"  This  is  an  excellent  place  for  American  missionaries 
to  commence  the  study  of  the  languages,  and  to  learn  some 
thing  of  the  customs  and  habits  of  the  Eastern  world ;  but 
we  must  not  say  of  it,  '  This  is  my  rest  for  ever,  here  will 
I  dwell.'  We  have  many  opportunities  of  doing  good  to  the 
English  who  reside  here,  but  very  rarely  opportunities  of 
benefiting  the  Maltese.  The  English  government  does  not 
permit  us  to  distribute  any  of  our  tracts  here  ;  does  not 
permit  the  circulation  of  the  Maltese  Gospel  of  St.  John ; 
and  (I  would  say  it  softly)  is  far  more  afraid  of  the  influence, 
not  of  us  simply,  but  of  all  missionaries,  than  of  all  the 
Roman  Catholics  in  the  world. 

"  I  have  no  idea  of  being  shut  up  in  this  island  more  than 
two  or  three  months  longer.  We  must  break  forth  upon 
the  right  hand  and  upon  the  left.  We  have  concluded  to 
*  take  up  our  carriages '  and  go  towards  Jerusalem.  We  go 
not  knowing  the  things  that  shall  befall  us  there,  in  that 
land  where  the  blood  of  Jesus  was  shed,  and  which  has  been 
long  under  the  curse  of  God.  We  expect  many  privations 
and  difficulties  to  which  we  have  been  strangers  heretofore. 
But  we  desire  to  feel  that  through  Christ  we  can  do  all 
things,  and,  without  him,  nothing.  *  O  Emmanuel,  if  thy 
presence  go  not  with  us,  carry  us  not  up  hence  ! '  The 
land  to  which  we  go  is  still  the  land  of  promise,  and  is  yet 
to  become  the  joy  of  the  whole  earth.  The  curse  will  be 
removed ;  the  tears  will  be  wiped  away  from  the  eyes  of 
the  daughter  of  Zion.  Jerusalem  shall  be  built;  and  the 
sweet  influences  of  heaven,  like  the  rain  and  the  dew,  shall 
descend  copiously  upon  the  mountains  of  Israel.  The 
Lord  hasten  it  in  His  time!" 

He  describes  the  circumstances  of  their  departure  from 
Malta,  and  the  incidents  of  their  voyage  to  Beyrout :  — 

"  October  22,  1823.  We  have  engaged  passage  on  '  La 
Divina  Providenza,'  a  Maltese  brig,  bound  to  Cyprus  and 
Beyrout.  As  we  shall  probably  sail  before  the  Sabbath,  we 
this  evening  commemorated  the  death  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour.  The  ordinance  was  administered  by  Mr.  Temple, 


76  FORTY   YEARS   IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

and  by  Rev.  Mr.  Wilson,  of  the  London  Missionary  Society. 
Between  forty  and  fifty  persons,  most  of  whom  have  been 
our  constant  hearers,  united  with  us  in  this  feast  of  love.  Of 
these  persons  one  was  of  the  Roman  communion,  one  of  the 
Greek,  and  the  rest  of  the  Episcopal,  Presbyterian,  Inde 
pendent,  Baptist,  and  Methodist  connections.  About  fifteen 
persons  sat  down  to  the  Lord's  table  on  this  occasion  for  the 
first  time  in  their  lives,  having,  as  they  trust,  been  translated 
from  the  kingdom  of  darkness  into  the  kingdom  of  God's 
dear  Son  within  the  last  eighteen  months.  Many  of  the  spec 
tators,  as  well  as  the  communicants,  were  melted  to  tears. 
With  the  former  we  trust  there  were  '  great  searchings  of 
heart ; '  and  while  with  the  latter  we  never  expect  again  in 
this  world  to  drink  of  the  fruit  of  the  vine,  we  hope  to  drink 
it  new  with  them  in  our  Father's  kingdom,  and  to  sit  with 
them  in  heavenly  places  for  ever. 

"  October  24.  Our  dear  brother  and  sister  Temple,  and 
other  Christian  friends,  '  accompanied  us  to  the  ship.'  We 
united  in  singing,  '  Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds,'  &c.,  and  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Wilson  commended  us  in  prayer  unto  Him  whose 
blood  was  shed  at  Jerusalem.  Our  Christian  friends  at  Malta 
on  this  occasion  have  shown  us  the  most  marked  attention 
and  kindness,  preparing  many  things  for  our  voyage,  and  for 
our  comfort  at  Jerusalem.  Indeed,  we  can  say  with  the 
Apostle,  that  during  our  whole  stay  '  they  showed  us  no  little 
kindness,  and  when  we  departed  they  laded  us  with  such 
things  as  were  necessary.' 

"  Lord's  Day,  October  26.  A  strong,  contrary  wind,  an 
ciently  '  called  Euroclydon  ; '  a  high  sea ;  all  of  us  much  dis 
tressed  with  sea-sickness.  This  is  the  first  Sabbath  since  we 
left  our  native  country  on  which  we  have  been  unable  to 
worship  God  in  a  public  manner.  To-day,  instead  of  being 
permitted  to  go  up  with  glad  hearts  *  unto  the  altar  of  God 
with  a  multitude  that  keep  holy  day,'  we  find  ourselves 
*  exceedingly  tossed  with  a  tempest,'  arid  are  compelled  to  lie 
down  amidst  dirt  and  vermin,  hardly  able  to  speak,  or  to  take 
the  least  care  of  ourselves.  '  Think  upon  us,  O  our  God,  for 
good.' 

"November  1.  In  sight  of  Candia,  the  ancient  Crete.  Here 
Paul  preached  to  those  who  were,  to  a  proverb,  addicted  to 
lying,  the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  blessed  God.  Here  he 
planted  a  church,  of  which  he  appointed  Titus  the  overseer, 
that  he  '  might  set  in  order  the  things  that  were  wanting,  and 


SAILING   UNDER   CYPRUS.  77 

ordain  elders  in  every  city.'  Here  he  touched  and  advised 
to  winter  in  that  memorable  voyage  to  Italy,  in  which  he  was 
shipwrecked  at  Malta.  Oh  that  we  may  have  more  of  the 
spirit  of  that  great  apostle,  and  be  ready  to  follow  him  in  the 
path  of  duty  and  suffering. 

"Friday,  November  1.  Instead  of  being  in  port,  as  we  had 
hoped,  we  are  still  '  sailing  under  Cyprus,  because  the  winds 
are  contrary.'  An  admirer  of  the  Greek  classics  might  easily 
fancy  that  his  eyes  now  behold  the  very  mountains  which  the 
poets  have  rendered  immortal  by  making  them  the  birth 
place  of  Venus,  and  the  abode  of  the  Graces.  In  the  Script 
ures  of  the  Old  Testament  this  island  was  called  *  Chittim.' 
In  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  much  mention  is  made  of  it  under 
its  present  name.  It  was  to  Cyprus  some  of  those  came 
'  who  were  scattered  abroad  upon  the  persecution  that  arose 
about  Stephen,  preaching  the  word  to  none  but  unto  the  Jews 
only.'  It  was  here  Barnabas  was  born,  who,  *  having  land, 
sold  it,  and  brought  the  money,  and  laid  it  at  the  apostles' 
feet.'  It  was  here  '  one  Mnason '  lived,  *  an  old  disciple  with 
whom,'  said  Paul  (when  on  his  way  to  Jerusalem  for  the 
last  time), 'we  should  lodge.'  It  was  to  Cyprus  Paul  and 
Barnabas  sailed,  after  they  had '  been  sent  forth  by  the  Holy 
Ghost '  to  preach  to  the  Gentiles.  It  was  at  Paphos,  in  this 
island,  '  the  deputy  of  the  country  desired  to  hear  the  word 
of  God,  and  Elymas  the  sorcerer  sought  to  turn  him  away 
from  the  faith,'  for  which  he  was  smitten  with  blindness. 
And  it  was  here  Barnabas  sailed,  after  he  and  Paul  had  con 
tended,  and  '  departed  asunder  the  one  from  the  other.'  The 
Lord  in  mercy  grant  *  that  there  may  be  no  divisions  among 
ourselves,  but  that  we  may  be  perfectly  joined  together  in 
the  same  mind  and  in  the  same  judgment ' ! 

"Friday,  November  14.  Left  Cyprus  at  seven  o'clock  this 
evening.  As  fellow-passengers,  we  now  have  one  Turk,  two 
Greeks,  an  English  gentleman,  and  two  Armenians,  a  bishop 
and  a  priest,  going  with  their  servants  to  Jerusalem.  The 
bishop  has  resided  there  thirty  years.  Amongst  us  all,  we 
are  now  able  to  speak  and  read  no  less  than  fifteen  different 
languages.  Oh  that  we  may  all  learn  the  language  of  the 
citizens  of  Zion ! 

"Saturday,  November  15.  Find  ourselves  this  morning  in 
sight  of  '  that  goodly  mountain,  even  Lebanon,'  which  Moses 
prayed  so  earnestly  to  behold.  Its  summits  are  covered  with 
snow.  'Will  a  man  leave  the  snow  of  Lebanon,  which 


78  FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

cometh  from  the  rock  of  the  field?     Yet,'  saith  the  Lord, 

*  my  people  have  forgotten  me.' 

"  Sabbath,  November  16.  Were  hailed  at  four  this  morning 
by  a  Greek  privateer.  All  on  board  were  in  the  greatest 
consternation  lest  it  might  prove  to  be  not  an  authorized 
vessel,  but  a  pirate.  The  bags  of  money  flew  wherever  they 
could  find  a  place,  some  to  the  berths  and  some  to  the  hold ; 
some  of  the  most  important  papers  and  most  precious  articles 
were  intrusted  to  the  keeping  of  the  ladies,  Mrs.  Bird  and  Mrs. 
Goodell.  The  poor  Turk,  quaking  with  fear,  threw  off  his 
turban,  supplying  its  place  with  an  English  cap,  and  con 
cealed  himself  in  the  hold.  To  the  general  cry,  i  What  shall 
we  do  ? '  one  answered,  6  Let  each  one  think  and  act  for 
himself ; '  another,  t  We  can  die  but  once ; '  and  another, 
1  We  are  at  the  mercy  of  God/  We  let  our  trunks,  gar 
ments,  &c.,  remain  as  they  were,  committing  our  property, 
our  liberty,  our  life,  and  our  cause  unto  Him  who  preserved 
Paul,  not  only  '  in  perils  in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the  wilder 
ness,  and  in  perils  in  the  sea,'  but  also  '  in  perils  of  robbers ; ' 
and  who  has  said,  i  I,  even  I,  am  lie  that  comforteth  thee ; 
who  art  thou,  that  thou  shouldst  be  afraid  of  a  man,  that  shall 
die,  and  of  the  son  of  man,  that  shall  be  made  as  the  grass ; 
and  f  orgettest  the  Lord  thy  Maker  ? '  The  Armenian  bishop 
kept  crying,  *  II  diavolo  !  il  diavolo  ! '  (the  devil !  the  devil !) 
this  being  about  all  the  Italian  he  knew. 

"  Our  captain  was  ordered  to  set  his  sails,  and  wait  till  the 
morning  light.  When  he  made  some  objection,  the  reply, 

*  If  you  do  not  obey,  we  will  sink  you  to  the  bottom,'  was  an 
argument  of  sufficient  weight  in  our  circumstances.     As  soon 
as  there  was  light  sufficient  to  distinguish  countenances,  a 
bout  came  with  twelve  or  fifteen  men  ;  and  the  commander, 
with  four  or  five  others,  came  on  deck.     They  looked  more 
like   savage   than   civilized   men,  were  miserably  clad,  and 
appeared  half  famished ;  but  they  conducted  themselves  in  a 
vory  honorable  manner,  made  inquiries  about  our  voyage, 
and  what  Turkish  vessels  we  had  seen,  and  wished  to  pur 
chase  tobacco  and  provisions.     When  we  offered  them  some 
of  our  Greek  tracts,  they  seized  them  with  great  avidity ; 
and  we  only  regretted  that  we  had  not  a  greater  variety  at 
command.     Among  those  we  gave  them  were  '  The  African 
Servant '  and  '  The  Life  of  William  Kelley  ; '  and  our  prayer 
is  that  a  divine  blessing  may  attend  the  reading  of  them. 

"  At  eleven  o'clock  we  came  to  anchor,  four  miles  distant 


LANDING    AT   BEYROUT.  79 

from  the  city.  It  was  a  morning  without  clouds ;  and  we 
discovered,  on  the  sides  of  Lebanon  and  in  the  environs  of 
Beyrout,  many  trees,  and  more  that  appeared  verdant  and 
lovely  than  we  have  seen  since  we  left  the  hills  and  dales 
and  fruits  and  flowers  of  our  own  happy  country.  May  the 
countenance  of  our  Redeemer  ever  be  to  us  *  as  Lebanon, 
excellent  as  the  cedars.' " 

A  few  days  after  his  arrival  at  Beyrout,  he  sent  to  a  friend 
in  America  the  following  account  of  their  entrance  into  the 
Land  of  Promise  :  — 

"  Monday,  the  17th,  we  went  on  shore.  The  British  consul, 
Mr.  Abbott,  received  us  politely.  Indeed,  he  had  already  sent 
his  nephew  on  board,  kindly  offering  us  every  assistance  which  it 
was  possible  for  him  to  render,  and  inviting  us  to  make  his 
house  our  home,  saying  there  was  not  a  single  house  where  it 
would  be  proper  to  take  our  wives.  We  immediately,  thank 
fully  accepting  his  kind  offer,  returned  to  the  vessel  for  our 
families  and  baggage.  There  is  no  wharf  at  Beyrout,  and  when 
the  boat  struck,  the  half-naked,  barbarous  Arabs  leaped  out, 
and  carried  us,  one  at  a  time,  through  the  billows  to  the  dry 
land,  amidst  the  multitude  who  ran  to  witness  so  novel  a  scene. 
We  were  in  the  English  costume,  and  the  ladies  were  without 
veils.  The  Turkish  governor  sat  with  his  pipe,  and  looked  on 
very  composedly.  Mr.  Bird  remained  with  the  boat  and  bag 
gage,  and  I  walked  with  the  ladies  to  the  house  of  the  consul,  a 
Turk  carrying  the  infant  child  of  Mrs.  Bird,  and  leading  the 
way.  Many  Arabs  followed  in  the  train  to  see  what  the  end 
would  be;  and  the  boys  and  girls  frequently  ran  across  the 
street  before  us,  in  order  to  see  the  color  of  our  eyes  and  the 
cut  of  our  garments  to  better  advantage.  The  consul  lives  in 
the  country,  about  a  mile  from  the  landing-place.  His  family 
is  the  only  English  family  at  Beyrout.  Himself  and  daughter, 
aged  twelve  years,  speak  the  English  language  ;  his  wife  is  from 
Italy,  and  speaks  French  and  Italian.  They  all  received  us  with 
the  greatest  cordiality,  and  made  us  welcome  to  all  the  comforts 
which  their  house  afforded.  Yesterday  we  were  engaged  in 
bringing  our  goods  on  shore.  Late  in  the  evening  Mr.  King 
arrived  from  Der  el  Kamar  to  meet  us.  He  was  in  the  Oriental 
drers,  and  wore  a  venerable  beard.  Mr.  Fisk  had  gone  to  Jeru 
salem." 

Owing  to  the  unsettled  state  of  things  at  Jerusalem,  it  was 
deemed  advisable  to  remain  for  the  present  at  Beyrout,  and 
accordingly  they  engaged  a  house,  and  established  themselves 
for  the  winter,  fully  intending  to  go  up  to  the  Holy  City  tho 


80  FORTY  YEARS   IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

ensuing  spring.  In  his  truly  devout  spirit,  and  in  the  Script 
ural  language  which  seemed  to  be  his  native  dialect,  Mr. 
Goodell  records  their  entering  upon  housekeeping :  — 

"  Tuesday,  November  25,  1823.  Engaged  in  removing  our  bag 
gage  to  '  our  own  hired  house. '  In  the  evening  took  up  our  abode 
there.  We  read  the  182d  Psalm  :  '  Lord,  remember  David  and 
all  his  afflictions;  how  he  sware  unto  the  Lord,  and  vowed  unto 
the  mighty  God  of  Jacob:  surely  I  will  not  come  into  the 
tabernacle  of  my  house,  nor  go  up  into  my  bed ;  I  will  not  give 
sleep  to  mine  eyes,  nor  slumber  to  mine  eyelids,  until  I  find  out 
a  place  for  the  Lord,  an  habitation  for  the  mighty  God  of 
Jacob.'  We  consecrated  our  house  and  ourselves  to  the 
Redeemer.  We  prayed  that  He  would  take  up  His  abode  with 
us,  and  that  He  might  never  witness  any  thing  in  any  of  our 
rooms  which  should  grieve  Him  to  depart  from  us.  4  O  Thou 
the  Hope  of  Israel,  why  shouldst  thou  be  as  a  stranger  in  the 
land,  as  a  way-faring  man  that  turneth  aside  to  tarry  for  the 
night?  '  Say,  we  beseech  thee,  of  this  place,  '  This  is  my  rest 
for  ever,  here  will  I  dwell,  for  I  have  desired  it." 

He  subsequently  described  their  home :  — 

"  The  house  which  we  occupy  belongs  to  a  wealthy  Turk. 
It  stands  on  a  delightful  eminence,  about  a  mile  from  the  land 
ing-place,  and  nearly  half  a  mile  from  the  English  consul's; 
entirely  overlooks  the  city,  and  most  of  the  adjacent  country, 
and  is  surrounded  by  mulberry-trees.  Like  all  the  houses  of 
this  country,  it  did  not  contain  a  single  pane  of  glass,*  and  in 
storms  and  tempests  we  had  nothing  to  do  but  close  every  aper 
ture  designed  for  the  admission  of  air  or  light,  wrap  ourselves 
in  our  cloaks,  and  let  it  rain.  Now,  through  the  kindness  of  the 
consul,  we  have  a  few  panes  of  glass  in  each  room,  and  have 
light  sufficient  to  read  or  write,  in  rain  as  well  as  in  sunshine. 
The  principal  room  was  entirely  open  towards  the  north;  but. 
we  have  suspended  a  large  sail-cloth,  which  serves  to  defend  us 
in  some  degree  from  the  cold  winds  and  rains  of  this  wintry 
season.  In  this  room  we  have  a  table  filled  with  Bibles  and 
tracts  in  various  languages.  Here  we  receive  our  company  and 
take  cur  meals.  Here  we  give  the  Arab  his  coffee  and  his  pipe, 
read  with  him  in  the  Arabic  Scriptures,  and  tell  him  of  the 
glorious  Gospel  of  the  blessed  God.  And  here,  too,  we  *  bow 
the  knee  unto  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  we 
may  be  enriched  in  all  utterance  and  in  all  knowledge,'  and 
that  *  the  Spirit  may  be  poured  out  from  on  high '  upon  the 
people  among  whom  we  dwell,  and  for  whose  salvation  we  desire 

*  The  English  consul's  was  the  only  house  in  Beyrout  at  that  time 
that  had  a  glazed  window. 


ENTERING   ON   HIS  WORK.  81 

to  spend  and  be  spent.  We  are,  indeed,  in  the  midst  of  Arabs 
and  armed  Turks,  and  we  sometimes  cannot  but  feel  how  easy 
it  would  be  for  them  to  destroy  us  in  a  moment.  But  *  the 
Lord  is  our  light  and  our  salvation.'  We  sit  down  quietly  to 
the  study  of  Arabic,  eat  our  morsel  with  contented  and  thank 
ful  hearts,  and  at  night  lie  down  in  peace  and  safety  under  the 
shadow  of  the  Almighty.  *  Blessed  be  the  Lord  who  loadeth 
us  with  His  benefits,  even  the  God  of  our  salvation.'  ' 

The  winter  was  spent  in  the  study  of  the  Turkish,  the 
Arabic,  and  the  Armenian  languages ;  but  the  missionaries 
entered  at  once  upon  their  work  of  preaching  Christ  in  the 
house  and  by  the  way,  wherever  they  found  an  opportunity 
or  could  make  one.  They  distributed  the  Word  of  God  in 
various  languages,  the  books  being  furnished  by  the  British 
and  Foreign  Bible  Society.  Their  house  was  a  Bible  depot, 
and  the  people  of  all  tongues  came  to  read  it  or  hear  it  read, 
thus  enabling  them  to  scatter  the  good  seed  extensively,  and 
with  strong  hope  of  its  speedily  bearing  fruit.  As  yet  no 
prejudice  against  their  work  had  been  excited,  and  curiosity 
induced  great  numbers  of  all  religions  to  come  and  see  the 
strangers  and  hear  what  they  had  to  say.  The  missionaries 
who  had  preceded  them,  Messrs.  Fisk,  Parsons,  and  King, 
being  unmarried,  appeared  more  like  passing  travellers ; 
but  when  these  men  came  with  their  wives,  in  strange  cos 
tumes,  and  settled  down  among  them,  it  was  natural  that 
their  advent  should  be  the  theme  of  universal  remark,  and 
that  it  should  awaken  a  general  desire  to  know  more  about 
them  and  about  the  object  of  their  coming.  Scarcely  a  day 
passed  without  the  house  of  the  missionaries  being  visited, 
and  sometimes  it  was  thronged,  with  Arabs  and  Turks,  Jews 
and  Greeks,  Maronites  and  Franks,  &c.  Some  extracts 
from  Mr.  Goodell's  journal  will  show  how  speedily  and  how 
fully  their  work  opened  up  before  them :  — 

"  To-day  our  house  was  crowded  with  Arab  women  who 

came  to  look  at  us.     We  also  received  visits  from  an  English 

captain,  a  Jew,  and  a  friar,  with  all  of  whom  we  had  some 

religious  conversation."     Again :  "  Some  women  called,  to 

4*  F 


82  FORTY  YEARS  IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

whom  we  read  the  Scriptures.  One  of  them  appeared  anx 
ious  to  learn  to  read,  but  doubted  whether  it  was  possible. 
Everybody  said  a  woman  could  not  learn ;  the  experiment 
was  once  made  in  a  convent,  and  only  two  out  of  a  large 
number  were  found  to  have  any  understanding."  Another 
day:  "Three  men  called  to  read  the  Scriptures;  two  of 
them  borrowed  the  Bible  to  carry  home  with  them.  In 
walking  out  afterwards  I  stopped  at  a  house  and  found  one 
of  the  men  reading  the  Scriptures  to  his  family.  Two 
Greeks  called,  to  whom  I  gave  Greek  tracts,  and  I  informed 
them  that  many  were  printing  for  them  at  Malta.  Three 
Catholic  priests  called.  I  gave  a  French  Testament  to  one, 
who  requested  it,  and  Greek  tracts  to  them  all."  Again : 
"  Three  Turkish  ladies,  the  wives  of  a  wealthy  Turk  in  the 
city,  called  upon  us.  Like  other  ladies  of  this  country,  they 
had  their  golden  '  chains  and  bracelets  and  head-bands  and 
ear-rings,  and  ornaments  of  the  legs  and  tinkling  ornaments 
of  silver  about  their  feet.'  Mrs.  Goodell  read  to  them  from 
the  Arabic  Scriptures." 

"  December  4.  In  the  city  met  with  a  Maronite  priest,  who 
said  he  lived  very  nigh  us,  and  asked  the  privilege  of  visiting  us. 
In  the  evening  he  called,  and  brought  to  the  ladies  two  beauti 
ful  doves,  as  white  as  the  snow  of  Lebanon.  In  return  we 
offered  him  an  Arabic  Bible ;  but  he  refused  to  accept  of  it  as 
a  gift,  saying,  *  It  is  a  good  book,  and  worth  paying  for;  you 
are  worthy  men  for  bringing  such  books  into  the  country.'  He 
then  took  out  a  Spanish  dollar  and  gave  it  for  the  Bible ;  the 
first  Bible,  probably,  he  ever  possessed,  though,  judging  from 
his  venerable  white  beard,  he  is  not  less  than  fifty  years  old. 
We  told  him  we  should  like  to  see  him  every  evening ;  and  if  he 
•would  teach  us  to  speak  Arabic  we  would  teach  him  to  speak 
Italian.  He  accepted  the  proposal  with  great  pleasure,  and 
said  he  would  teach  us  to  speak  Arabic  like  a  nightingale. 

"  December  5.  The  Maronite  priest  called  and  brought  again 
the  doves,  which  in  the  course  of  the  day  had  made  their  escape. 
We  thanked  him  for  his  kindness,  and  he  replied:  '  When  the 
infant  Jesus  was  first  brought  to  the  temple,  and  the  aged  Sim 
eon  took  him  in  his  arms  and  blessed  him,  the  parents  of  the 
child,  being  poor,  had  nothing  to  bring  but  two  doves;  and 
when  I  heard  of  the  arrival  of  these  good  women,  I  thought, 
What  have  I  to  bring?  but,  being  poor,  I  could  think  of  noth 
ing  but  the  two  doves  to  bring  to  them  as  a  present.' 


NATIVE  HELPERS.  83 

"  December  6.  Mr.  King's  instructor  taking  notice  of  the 
attentions  we  bestowed  upon  the  ladies,  it  gave  us  an  opportu 
nity  of  speaking  to  him  on  the  importance  of  female  education ; 
of  telling  him  many  of  the  customs  of  America,  especially  of  the 
intelligence  and  influence  of  the  female  part  of  the  community 
in  our  country,  and  of  the  good  which  they  did  by  instructing 
youth,  by  their  epistolary  correspondence,  and  by  their  benev 
olent  efforts.  He  frequently  laughed  heartily  when  we  served 
the  ladies  at  table  before  we  served  him  or  ourselves,  and  when 
we  assisted  them  in  doing  any  little  thing.  He  said,  if  any  per 
son  should  come  into  his  house  and  speak  to  his  wife  first  he 
should  be  offended.  We  told  him  we  had  so  much  love  and 
respect  for  our  wives  that  we  were  better  pleased  when  they 
were  honored  than  when  we  were  ourselves.  He  said,  '  English 
ladies  have  understanding;  but  not  so  the  Arabian  women.' 
The  women  here  are  treated  as  slaves.  Whenever  they  go 
abroad  they  wrap  themselves  up  in  a  large,  white  sheet.  They 
never  walk  out  with  their  husbands ;  they  never  eat  with  them. 
And  to  ask  a  man  after  his  wife,  that  is,  about  her  health,  is 
almost  an  unpardonable  offence." 


As  much  of  the  time  of  the  missionaries  was  necessarily 
spent  in  the  acquisition  of  the  several  languages  spoken  in 
Syria,  it  was  a  matter  of  prime  importance  to  obtain  native 
assistants  who  were  qualified  to  give  them  instruction  and  at 
the  same  time  to  aid  them  in  their  work.  In  this  they  were 
remarkably  successful.  Within  the  first  year  of  their  en 
trance  into  the  country,  a  kind  providence  sent  to  their  house 
an  Armenian  bishop,  a  man  of  extensive  learning,  who  had 
spent  the  most  of  his  life  in  the  Armenian  convent  at 
Jerusalem.  He  had  become  disgusted  with  the  superstitions 
of  his  church,  and,  coming  to  Beyrout,  he  met  with  Mr. 
Goodell,  who  took  him  into  his  service  as  interpreter  and 
assistant  in  translating.  He  was  known  in  his  own  church 
by  the  name  of  Dionysius,  but  was  called  in  the  mission 
Oarabet.  When  he  first  came  to  Mr.  Goodell  he  was  far 
from  being  a  serious-minded  person,  —  he  was  even  profane 
in  his  language ;  but  he  soon  became  impressed  with  the 
truth  as  he  learned  it  for  the  first  time  from  the  teachings 
of  evangelical  ministers.  He  subsequently  gave  evidence 
of  being  truly  converted,  and  was  of  great  assistance  to  the 


84     FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE. 

mission.  He  remained  in  the  service  of  Mr.  Goodell  until 
after  his  removal  to  Malta,  in  1828;  during  which  time  he 
renounced  all  connection  with  the  Armenian  church,  and, 
in  token  of  his  renunciation  of  its  orders,  he  took  to  himself 
a  wife. 

Another  excellent  assistant  was  an  Armenian  ecclesiastic 
named  Jacob,  known  also  as  Wortabet.  He  was  a  young 
man  of  good  parts  and  education,  but  at  first  without  any 
settled  principles.  After  he  had  been  in  the  service  of  the 
mission  about  a  year,  as  literary  assistant,  he  became  deeply 
serious;  the  truth  had  taken  hold  of  his  heart  and  con 
science.  He  too  renounced  the  church  with  which  he  had 
been  connected,  as  having  apostatized  from  the  faith  and 
become  utterly  corrupt. 

A  single  passage  from  Mr.  Goodell's  journal  will  show 
how  many  languages  it  was  necessary  the  missionaries 
should  be  more  or  less  familiar  with,  in  order  to  prosecute 
the  various  branches  of  their  work :  — 

"We  almost  daily  read  the  Scriptures  in  Ancient  Greek, 
Modern  Greek,  Ancient  Armenian,  Modern  Armenian, 
Turkish  Armenian  (or  Armeno-Turkish),  Arabic,  Italian, 
and  English,  and  frequently  hear  them  read  in  Syriac, 
Hebrew,  and  French.  Seldom  do  we  sit  down  to  our  meals 
without  hearing  conversation  at  the  table  in  Armenian, 
Greek,  Arabic,  Turkish,  Italian,  and  English,  and  prayer 
daily  ascends  from  this  house  —  I  hope  to  heaven  —  in  all 
these  languages,  excepting  the  Italian.  In  translating  the 
Scriptures,  we  have  open  before  us  the  Bible  in  Ancient 
and  Modern  Greek,  Ancient  and  Modern  Armenian,  Turk 
ish,  Armeno-Turkish,  English,  two  translations  in  Arabic 
and  three  in  Italian,  and  occasionally  Hebrew  and  Syriac." 


HEAD-QUARTERS   AT  BEYROUT.  85 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A  LTHOUGH  Mr.  Goodell  had  entered  Syria  with  the 
-^~~^-  full  expectation  of  going  to  Jerusalem  to  make  it 
the  scene  of  his  labors,  it  soon  became  evident  that  the 
point  where,  in  the  providence  of  God,  they  first  landed 
and  were  detained  was  one  of  great  importance  in  connec 
tion  with  the  mission  work.  Jerusalem  was  then  hi  a  dis 
turbed  state,  and  events  soon  after  transpired  which  made 
it  doubtful  whether  they  could  go  there  at  all  with  their 
families.  Beyrout,  on  the  other  hand,  enjoyed  British  pro 
tection  ;  and  Mr.  Abbott,  the  consul,  took  a  warm  interest 
in  the  missionaries  personally,  and  in  the  cause  in  which 
they  were  engaged.  The  trade,  too,  with  other  parts  of 
the  Mediterranean  was  rapidly  increasing,  and  the  free 
communication  with  the  interior  afforded  an  opportunity 
for  exerting  a  wide-spread  influence.  They  determined, 
therefore,  to  go  on  with  the  work  which  had  opened  so 
auspiciously,  and  here  they  continued  to  labor  with  encourag 
ing  success.  Mr.  Bird,  who  had  gone  to  Jerusalem  in 
January,  1824,  and  who  was  there  arrested  on  an  accusation 
of  distributing  "  books  which  were  neither  Mussulman, 
Jewish,  nor  Christian,"  returned  in  May ;  and  Messrs.  Good- 
ell  and  Bird  prepared  to  begin  anew  in  Syria  the  proclama 
tion  of  the  Gospel  which  had  been  heard  in  that  land 
eighteen  hundred  years  before,  the  echoes  of  which  had 
long  since  died  away. 

Beyrout  thus  became  the  head-quarters  of  missionary  opera 
tions  in  Syria ;  and  as  it  was  the  only  spot  where  missionary 
homes  were  established,  it  was  frequently  visited  by  the  differ- 


86  FORTY   YEARS   IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

ent  missionary  brethren  who  had  come  to  the  country.  Mr. 
King  spent  much  of  his  time  at  a  monastery  in  Mount 
Lebanon,  engaged  in  the  study  of  Arabic;  but  he  often 
joined  the  families  on  the  coast.  Pliny  Fisk,  who  was 
engaged  in  exploring  the  country  with  a  view  to  future 
operations,  was  also  several  times  welcomed  to  the  homes 
and  the  hearts  of  those  who  had  known  him  as  a  brother 
beloved  in  their  native  land.  And  when  his  short  work 
was  done,  just  two  years  after  Messrs.  Goodell  and  Bird 
landed,  this  devoted  servant  of  Christ,  whose  name  in  con 
nection  with  that  of  Levi  Parsons,  the  first  missionaries  to 
Palestine,  will  ever  be  kept  in  sweet  remembrance,  came 
here  to  die.  Returning  from  one  of  his  tours,  he  reached 
the  house  of  Mr.  Goodell  in  his  usual  health,  but  was  soon 
attacked  with  a  fever  which  he  had  contracted  while  watch 
ing  with  an  English  gentleman.  For  several  days  there 
were  no  alarming  symptoms ;  but,  although  every  thing  that 
love  and  tender  care  could  do  for  him  was  done,  and  with 
apparent  success,  his  disease  suddenly  took  an  unfavorable 
turn,  and,  rapidly  sinking  under  its  power,  early  on  the 
morning  of  the  Lord's  day,  Oct.  23,  1825,  he  entered  into 
rest.  Of  this  event  Mr.  Goodell  wrote  at  the  time  :  — 

"  It  seems  a  great  mercy  that  he  died  with  us,  and  not  abroad 
among  strangers.  This  he  often  mentioned  with  thankfulness 
in  the  course  of  his  illness.  It  appeared  a  comfort  to  him  to 
have  us  about  him  to  converse  with  him,  pray  for  him,  and 
strengthen  his  faith  in  God.  Some  of  the  Arabs  were  deeply 
affected,  as  they  stood  around  his  dying  bed ;  they  were  amazed 
at  his  peace  of  mind,  and  could  not  conceive  it  possible  that  any 
one  could  be  so  willing  to  die.  They  wept.  We  explained  to 
them  the  cause  of  his  tranquillity  and  joy,  related  to  them  much 
of  his  religious  views  and  experience,  and  told  them  of  Christ 
and  heaven.  Indeed,  we  sometimes  felt  that  Christ  and  heaven 
were  present.  It  seemed  but  a  step  '  to  Him  that  sitteth  upon 
the  throne  and  to  the  Lamb,'  where  God  himself  wipes  away 
all  tears." 

The  following  suggestion,  occurring  in  a  letter  to  a  friend 
in  America,  written  at  this  time,  will  be  appreciated  by  all 


TRIALS.  87 

missionaries,  and  may  help  those  who  correspond  with  them 
to  write  letters  that  will  be  no  less  acceptable  and  no  less 
useful  because  containing  items  of  earthly  intelligence  :  — 

"  Tell  us  every  thing,  good,  bad,  and  indifferent.  Do  not 
say,  '  I  suppose  this  one  and  that  one  have  written  so  and  so,' 
but  write  everything;  for  but  few  tell  us  any  thing.  Some 
write  us  very  good  letters,  but  tell  us  no  news,  supposing  that 
because  we  are  missionaries  we  have  no  flesh  and  blood,  and  no 
concern  with  mortal  things.  Tell  us  every  thing!  " 

For  a  time  every  thing  connected  with  the  missionary 
work  in  Beyrout  went  on  prosperously,  and  without  restraint 
from  either  civil  or  ecclesiastical  authorities,  and  without  the 
manifestation  of  hostility  on  the  part  of  the  people.  Mr. 
Goodell  and  Mr.  Bird  mingled  with  Turks  and  Arabs  and 
Maronites  and  Jews  and  Greeks,  distributing  the  Bible  and 
reading  it  to  them,  without  molestation  or  hindrance. 

But  this  state  of  things  was  not  to  continue.  The  words 
of  the  Master  to  His  disciples,  "  If  they  have  persecuted  me, 
they  will  also  persecute  you,"  were  again  to  be  verified  in 
the  land  where  He  suffered.  Within  the  first  year  an  order 
from  the  Maronite  Patriarch  was  read  in  the  church  at  Bey- 
rout,  forbidding  the  people  to  receive  the  Holy  Scriptures 
circulated  by  the  missionaries,  specifying  the  editions  pub 
lished  in  England,  and  requiring  all  to  return  or  burn  those 
they  had  received.  The  Pope's  vicar-general  subsequently 
called  on  Mr.  Goodell  and  Mr.  Bird,  and  assured  them  that 
this  order  was  issued  without  his  knowledge  and  without 
any  authority  from  Rome ;  but  the  outbreak  proved  to  be 
only  the  first  breath  of  a  coming  storm. 

The  first  severe  trial  through  which  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Goodell 
were  called  to  pass  was  incidental,  and  did  not  spring  from 
their  character  and  work  as  missionaries.  The  attempt  to 
throw  off  the  Turkish  yoke,  made  by  Greece  in  1820,  was 
still  carried  on  when  they  landed  at  Beyrout  in  1823,  and 
for  several  years  longer.  It  was  in  consequence  of  this  war 
that  the  scenes  occurred  which  are  described  in  the  following 


88  FORTY  YEARS   IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

extracts  from  Mr.  Goodell's  journal;  scenes  in  which  not 
only  was  he  stripped  of  his  property,  but  the  lives  of  him 
self  and  his  family  were  often  in  imminent  peril :  — 

"  Sabbath,  March  19,  1826.  Yesterday  two  Greek  vessels 
came  in  and  anchored  at  the  river,  about  two  miles  east  of  Bey- 
rout.  As  they  frequently  come  in  to  visit  European  vessels  and 
to  seize  whatever  Turkish  property  they  may  find  on  board,  we 
suspected  nothing  uncommon.  At  daylight  this  morning  we 
were  awakened  by  a  brisk  fire  of  musketry.  Ten  other  Greek 
vessels  had  come  in  during  the  evening,  observed  in  the  city  but 
not  observed  by  ourselves,  and  had  landed  about  five  hundred 
men,  who  were  now  before  the  walls  of  the  city,  attempting  to 
scale  them.  The  city  was  in  an  exceedingly  defenceless  state ; 
bat  the  Turks,  knowing  it  must  be  victory  or  death,  acted  with 
great  spirit  and  energy,  and  succeeded  in  driving  the  Greeks 
from  the  wall,  in  doing  which  they  killed  four  or  five  and  lost 
of  their  number  near  twenty. 

"  The  twelve  Greek  vessels,  which,  to  the  shame  of  their  com 
manders,  had  till  now  been  at  anchor,  immediately  sailed  forth 
with  a  fine  breeze  and  in  fine  order,  directly  before  the  town, 
and  commenced  a  heavy  cannonading.  The  Turks  were  able 
to  return  only  about  one  ball  for  twenty  received.  We  expected 
nothing  but  that  the  city  would  have  a  change  of  masters  in  a 
few  moments,  and  looked  to  see  the  Greek  flag  hoisted  in  Bey- 
rout.  But  the  Greeks,  though  to  human  view  they  could  have 
landed  with  the  greatest  ease,  made  no  attempt  of  the  kind, 
and  apparently  came  out  in.  mere  wantonness  to  take  revenge 
for  the  unsuccessful  effort  made  at  daylight  to  take  the  city. 
After  an  hour  and  a  half,  during  which  time  they  gained  noth 
ing,  and  lost  the  finest  prospect  of  success,  they  returned  to 
their  place  of  anchorage.  One  of  their  balls  carried  away  both 
the  legs  of  a  poor  Greek  lad  in  the  city;  three  balls  entered  the 
house  of  the  French  consul,  and  two  that  of  the  Austrian.  The 
house  of  the  English  consul  was  much  exposed  to  the  firing 
both  by  land  and  by  sea,  but  was  not  touched.  The  Greeks  that 
were  killed  lay  in  plain  view  from  his  house  and  within  a  stone's 
throw  of  his  door. 

"  The  Greeks  who  had  landed  in  the  night  immediately,  on 
being  driven  from  the  walls  of  the  city,  took  possession  of  all 
that  part  of  the  country  where  I  live;  entering  every  house, 
eating,  drinking,  smoking,  and,  in  some  instances,  pillaging. 
Many  parties  of  them  came  to  my  door;  but,  on  my  telling 
them  1  was  English,  they  departed.  (As  we  have  English  pro 
tection,  we  are  known  in  no  other  character  in  this  country  than 
as  English.)  The  people  out  of  the  city  fled  in  all  directions, 
taking  with  them  all  that  was  possible  of  their  property.  All 
that  could  do  so  escaped  to  the  mountain.  My  house  was 


THE   GREEK   FLEET.  89 

immediately  filled  with  men,  women,  and  children,  who  came 
trembling  and  screaming  from  all  quarters,  bringing  with  them 
their  most  precious  articles  as  their  little  all.  About  two 
o'clock,  P.M.,  the  Greeks  all  retired  to  a  fort  about  a  mile  dis 
tant,  half-way  between  the  city  and  the  anchorage  at  the  river, 
some  of  them  carrying  away  what  they  did  not  bring  with 
them,  viz.,  Greek  tracts. 

"  Wednesday,  22d.  Since  the  Greeks  left  us  on  the  Sabbath, 
we  have  been  under  no  government  but  that  of  God.  My  house 
has  been  filled  with  the  poor  Christians  who  were  preparing  to 
escape  to  the  mountain.  Twenty-seven  slept  in  one  room  of 
my  house  one  night,  and  the  other  rooms  were  equally  well 
filled.  To  these  I  daily  read  the  Scriptures,  and  exhorted  them 
to  trust  in  God.  Most  of  the  houses  are  now  forsaken,  all  the 
most  valuable  articles  removed,  the  highways  are  unoccupied, 
and  far  and  near  scarcely  a  human  being  is  to  be  seen  except 
the  poor  of  the  land  who  have  nothing  to  lose.  The  gates  of 
the  city  have  been  shut  since  the  Sabbath,  and  we  should  have 
been  entirely  destitute  of  bread,  meat,  rice,  oil,  and  charcoal, 
had  we  not  been  able  to  purchase  a  little  from  the  fleeing  inhab 
itants.  To  the  west  of  us  are  the  Turks,  fortifying  their  city 
and  castles,  and  beginning  to  rage  like  so  many  bears,  whom 
it  is  better  to  avoid  than  to  meet.  On  the  east  are  the  Greeks, 
who  must  pass  by  us,  whether  they  attack  the  city  by  land  or 
by  sea.  The  Emir  Beshir,  head  of  the  mountain  tribes,  has 
come  down  from  the  mountain  with  his  troops,  and  encamped 
about  half  an  hour's  distance  to  the  south  of  us;  and  whether 
he  will  assist  the  Greeks  or  the  Turks,  or  attempt  to  become 
master  of  the  city  himself,  in  opposition  to  both,  is  a  perfect 
secret.  To  the  north  of  us  is  the  Bay  of  Beyrout.  We  are 
therefore  hedged  in  on  all  sides;  and  the  English  consul  being 
within  the  wails  of  the  city,  we  have  no  protection  but  that  of 
the  Almighty.  We  wait  with  anxiety  for  the  result,  as  it 
respects  the  fate  of  the  city  and  the  interests  of  this  mission. 

"•  Thursday,  23d.  The  Greek  vessels  spread  their  sails  this 
morning  before  sunrise,  and,  with  a  very  light  breeze,  moved 
out  of  the  river.  All  eyes  were  fastened  upon  them.  The 
Turks  were  at  their  posts,  and  the  most  solemn  silence  pre 
vailed.  The  Greeks  passed  the  city  at  a  respectful  distance, 
without  throwing  a  single  ball.  Just  at  this  time  a  large  num 
ber  of  troops  arrived  from  the  Pasha  of  Acre,  consisting  princi 
pally  of  Albanians  and  Bedouins.  These,  finding  the  Greeks 
out  of  reach,  immediately  poured  forth  into  all  that  part  of  the 
country  which  had  been,  on  the  preceding  Sabbath,  in  posses 
sion  of  the  Greeks,  and  commenced  plundering  every  house. 
A  French  merchant,  whose  house  was  near  mine,  they  seized 
by  the  throat,  took  a  gold  watch  from  his  pocket,  his  money 
from  his  belt,  and  articles  from  his  house,  to  the  value  of  five 
thousand  Spanish  dollars.  My  own  house,  being  about  the  cen- 


90  FORTY   YEARS  IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

tre  of  their  depredations,  was  much  exposed.  Many  parties 
came  at  different  times  and  demanded  entrance;  but  on  my 
telling  them  the  house  was  English,  and  they  must  not  presume 
to  enter,  they  departed. 

"  After  being  annoyed  by  them  in  this  way  more  than  three 
hours,  with  a  full  and  painful  view  before  my  eyes  of  their 
nefarious  operations,  a  party  of  six  or  seven,  most  or  all  of 
whom  were  Bedouins,  who  appeared  only  '  fit  for  treasons, 
stratagems,  and  spoils,'  came  and  very  insolently  and  peremp 
torily  bid  me  open  the  door.  I  reasoned  with  them  a  long  time 
from  the  second-story  window,  but  to  no  purpose.  One  of 
them  cocked  his  gun  and  levelled  it  at  my  head.  I  told  them 
I  should  not  open  the  door;  and,  if  they  opened  it,  they  did  it  in 
violation  of  the  treaty  between  England  and  the  Ottoman  Porte; 
and  they  did  it,  too,  with  full  evidence  before  their  eyes,  from 
the  windows  in  my  house,  from  my  dress,  language,  &c.,  that 
I  was  a  European.  At  this  moment  four  or  five  respectable 
Turks  of  the  city  passed  along,  and  exerted  their  influence  in 
my  favor,  protesting  to  the  Bedouins  that  I  was  an  English 
consul,  and  that,  if  they  broke  into  my  house,  it  would  be  at 
their  peril.  They  listened  a  moment,  and  then  renewed  their 
attempts,  saying  they  knew  neither  consul  nor  sultan. 

"  Not  being  able  to  break  open  the  door,  they  cut  it  down 
with  their  hatchets,  and  rushed  upstairs  like  so  many  tigers 
eager  for  their  prey.  The  Turks  from  the  city  hastened  after 
them,  and  took  their  station  at  the  door  of  Mrs.  Goodell's  room, 
not  allowing  a  single  Bedouin  to  enter.  The  Bedouins  seized 
whatever  came  in  their  way,  and  we  snatched  from  them  all 
that  we  could  and  threw  into  that  room.  They  became  very 
angry,  and  one  of  them  drew  his  sword.  Seeing  it  was  vain  to 
reason  with  them,  I  assumed  a  tone  of  authority,  and  ordered 
them  to  leave  the  house  immediately,  telling  them  that  I  had 
already  sent  a  message  to  the  city,  and  that  the  pasha  would 
surely  take  off  their  heads  if  the  case  was  represented  to  him. 
This  had  the  desired  effect.  They  became  calm,  and  listened 
to  a  long  and  severe  reproof  from  me.  They  asked  me  why  I 
remained  there ;  why  I  did  not  go  to  the  mountain.  I  told 
them  I  could  not  go,  and  gave  as  a  reason  Mrs.  Goodell's  pecul 
iar  situation.  The  villains  prayed  that  God  would  bless  my 
wife  abundantly,  and  make  her  exceedingly  fruitful,  to  which 
I  added  my  hearty  Amen.  They  then  left.  (Some  of  the 
rogues  came  a  few  days  afterward  to  inquire  after  her  health 
and  happiness.  One  of  them  also  came  to  claim  some  tobacco 
which  he  said  I  stole  from  him  while  he  was  plundering  my 
house.) 

"  The  gates  of  the  city  being  now  open,  and  the  English  con 
sul,  hearing  of  our  situation,  had  sent  three  times  to  the  Kehya 
Bey,  commander  of  the  pasha's  troops,  to  protect  me,  and  the 
Kehya  Bey  had  sent  horsemen  to  assist  me;  but  not  one  ever 


MISSION   GARRISON. 


91 


came  nigh  me.  After  leaving  the  city  they  galloped  away  to 
commit  depredations  themselves.  Being  thus  unprotected,  and 
the  Turks  from  the  city  refusing  to  remain  with  me  through 
the  night,  as  the  Greeks  might  return,  I  accepted  an  invitation 
from  the  English  consul  to  take  refuge  in  his  house.  *  We 
took  joyfully  the  spoiling  of  our  goods,'  and  passed  safely 
through  the  crowds  of  armed  robbers  to  the  city,  where  we 
were  received  by  Mr.  Abbott  and  his  family  with  all  that  atten 
tion  and  kindness  which  they  have  shown  us  on  former  occa 
sions. 

"  Thursday,  April  G.  Mr.  Bird's  house  now  contains  all  the 
missionaries  that  are  to  be  found  in  Syria.  It  is  a  garrison, 
and  as  such  aifords  protection  to  a  few  houses  in  the  neighbor 
hood.  But  most  of  the  houses  without  the  city  are  desolated 
and  greatly  injured;  those  lovely  gardens,  the  glory  of  Beyrout, 
lie  uncultivated;  the  leaves  of  the  mulberry-trees  have  put 
forth,  and  the  silk  season,  which  is  the  most  busy  and  profit 
able  season  of  the  whole  year,  is  just  at  hand;  but  the  possess 
ors  of  these  houses  and  lands  have  not  yet  dared  to  corne  forth 
from  their  hiding-places,  and  their  ruin  seems  inevitable, 
whether  they  come  forth  or  continue  concealed.  If  they  come 
forth,  it  is  to  suffer  imprisonment  and  stripes,  and  almost  un 
precedented  extortions;  and,  if  they  do  not  come  forth,  their 
possessions  are  all  sequestered  by  the  Kenya  Bey.  Yesterday  I 
had  an  interview  with  the  Kenya  Bey,  the  cadi,  and  the  gov 
ernor,  on  the  subject  of  the  robbery  committed  upon  me.  I 
afterwards  sat  two  hours  with  the  sheikh  of  the  Bedouins 
among  his  troops,  with  the  hope  of  recognizing  some  of  the 
robbers;  but  the  villains,  knowing  the  object  of  my  visit, 
thought  it  prudent  to  keep  out  of  the  way. 

"  May  15.  It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  system  of  false 
hood,  injustice,  oppression,  and  robbery  which  has  been  in 
operation  here  for  the  last  two  months.  Human  beings,  whose 
guilt  is  no  greater  than  that  of  their  proud  oppressors,  are  con 
demned  without  a  trial,  their  flesh  trembling  for  fear,  their 
religion  blasphemed,  their  Saviour  insulted,  their  comforts 
despoiled,  their  lives  threatened,  and  their  bodies  tilled  with 
pain,  and  deeply  marked  with  the  blows  inflicted  by  Turkish 
barbarity.  Some  of  them  were  so  badly  beaten  that  they  could 
not  walk,  but  were  carried  by  soldiers,  as  they  went  from  house 
to  house  to  obtain  a  trifle  here  and  a  trifle  there  towards  paying 
the  enormous  exactions  made  upon  them.  One  poor  creature 
was  brought  to  my  door  half  dead.  I  spent  several  hours  in 
endeavoring  to  restore  him ;  applied  cupping-glasses  to  his  back, 
bound  up  his  feet,  gave  him  cordials,  and  finally  kept  him  two 
days  till  he  could  walk.  I  have  never  known  before  what  it 
was  to  see  'all  faces  gather  darkness,  men's  hearts  failing 
them,'  every  bosom  tortured  with  the  most  gloomy  forebodings 
and  the  deepest  distress. 


92  FORTY  YEARS   IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

'*  May  19.  This  is  the  first  week  for  two  months  that  I 
have  opened  a  book  for  study.  The  force  of  the  storm  appears 
to  have  spent  itself,  and  we  are  now  quietly  pursuing  our  work. 
We  have  our  hopes  and  our  fears,  our  encouragements  and  our 
discouragements.  All  our  schools  upon  the  mountain  continue 
to  prosper,  and  we  have  sold  more  copies  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 
within  three  months  than  all  our  number  sold  during  the 
twenty  mouths  preceding.  Our  schools  in  Beyrout  are  of 
course  suspended  for  the  present ;  but  the  protection  we  have 
afforded  to  many  persons  of  all  the  different  Christian  sects 
appears  to  have  made  a  favorable  impression.  Within  a  few 
days  we  have  also  had  evidence  that  the  truth  is  prevailing, 
that  some  of  the  good  seed  sown  is  springing  up,  and  that  the 
little  leaven  which  has  been  cast  into  this  mighty  mass  is 
spreading.  We  bless  God  that  we  were  brought  here,  even 
though  we  should  now  be  destroyed.  We  believe  the  good 
work  will  go  on,  though  we  should  be  cut  off." 

Through  the  English  consul,  Mr.  Abbott,  Mr.  Goodell 
made  application  for  indemnification  for  his  losses  to  the 
Pasha  of  St.  John  d'Acre,  who  had  sent  the  troops  to  Bey- 
rout.  His  application  was  accompanied  with  an  extraor 
dinary  kind  of  evidence,  which  had  an  equally  remarkable 
influence  in  determining  the  case  in  his  favor.  He  employed 
a  Greek  artist  with  whom  he  was  well  acquainted,  and  who 
was  familiar  with  all  the  circumstances,  to  paint  a  rough 
but  accurate  picture  of  his  house,  with  the  Bedouins  in  the 
uniform  of  the  Turkish  troops  forcing  their  way  in.  With 
the  letter  demanding  indemnification,  this  painting  was  pre 
sented  to  the  pasha,  who  at  once  received  it  as  proof  posi 
tive  that  his  troops  had  committed  the  depredation,  and 
exclaimed,  "  Mashallah !  Truly  these  are  my  men."  He 
immediately  issued  an  order  that  the  full  sum  demanded 
should  be  paid,  amounting  to  2,875  piastres  (about  $230).* 
The  Kenya  Bey  of  Beyrout,  who  had  made  many  promises 
of  payment  without  the  least  intention  of  their  fulfilment, 
was  greatly  enraged  when  the  order  came ;  but  there  was  no 
resisting  the  command  of  the  pasha,  and  he  was  obliged 
to  pay  it. 

*  The  compiler  of  these  memoirs  has  this  painting  now  hanging  in 
his  study,  a  greatly  valued  memorial  of  the  scenes  described. 


CALAMITIES   OVERRULED.  93 

The  calamities  which  had  been  visited  upon  the  people,  and 
in  which  the  missionaries  shared,  were  afterward  acknowl 
edged  as  having  been  the  means  of  averting  a  disastrous 
interference  with  their  work,  —  an  interference  which  subse 
quently  drove  them  from  the  field.  In  regard  to  this  matter 
Mr.  Goodell  wrote  :  — 

"  Had  not  God  sent  terrible  judgments  upon  the  people,  it 
is  impossible  to  say  to  what  extremities  they  would  have 
proceeded  against  us.  A  deep  plot  was  laid  to  drive  us  all 
from  Beyrout.  The  Maronite  bishop  had  arrived,  and  had 
prepared  an  excommunication  for  every  Maronite  who  should 
permit  his  house  to  be  hired  by  us  ;  and  he  was  endeavoring 
by  bribery  and  intrigue  to  bring  the  Greek  bishop  and  the 
Mohammedan  rulers  to  act  in  concert  with  him,  and  thus 
force  us  to  retire  from  the  field  or  to  stand  out  in  the  rain 
with  our  wives  and  little  ones.  But  God  in  His  holy  provi 
dence  sent  the  Greeks  here  at  that  very  moment ;  the  bishop 
had  to  flee  in  the  night,  and  has  not  since  dared  to  return ; 
and  the  very  best  houses  of  the  Maronites  fell  into  our  hands 
by  the  earnest  request  of  the  owners.  Moreover,  just  as  the 
Armenian  patriarch  at  Constantinople  was  ready  to  sally 
forth  with  a  firman  from  the  grand  seignior  against  Jacob 
Aga,  and  also,  as  it  seems  probable,  against  the  men  that 
were  in  my  service,  God  let  the  janissaries  loose  upon  their 
capital,  and  permitted  the  fires  which  they  kindled  to  rage 
with  greater  fury  in  the  Armenian  than  in  any  other  quarter 
of  the  city,  and  to  burn  to  ashes,  among  many  thousand 
buildings,  the  palace  and  the  most  splendid  church  of  the 
Armenian  patriarch ;  and  thus  to  furnish  him  sufficient  em 
ployment  for  the  present,  without  his  meddling  with  the 
reformation  in  these  parts." 

When  the  commotions  described  in  the  preceding  pages 
had  passed  over,  the  missionaries  resumed  their  various  labors. 
Before  the  close  of  the  year  thirteen  schools  had  been 
established,  containing  about  seven  hundred  scholars,  of 
whom  more  than  one  hundred  were  girls,  —  a  remarkable 
evidence  of  a  change  of  sentiment  in  regard  to  the  education 
of  women ;  their  intercourse  with  the  people  was  resumed  ; 
and  more  Bibles  than  ever  before  were  circulated.  Mr. 


94  FORTY  YEARS  IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

Goodell  wrote:  "The  number  of  those  who  come  to  load 
with  us  every  evening  is  increasing ;  the  largest  room  in  my 
house  is  sometimes  well  filled,  and,  as  a  few  of  them  find  it 
inconvenient  to  return  home  the  same  evening,  I  have  pro 
vided  beds  for  them.  They  usually  sit  up  more  than  half 
the  night,  conversing  on  what  they  have  seen  and  heard." 

But  what  was  most  cheering  was  the  evidence  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  was  moving  upon  the  minds  of  many  who  had 
been  under  instruction,  leading  them  out  of  the  darkness  and 
superstition  in  which  they  had  been  groping,  into  the  light  of 
the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God,  —  a  light  to  which  few 
eyes  in  that  land  had  been  opened  for  many  centuries. 
Some  extracts  from  Mr.  Goodell's  journal  will  show  in  what 
circumstances  another  year  opened :  — 

"January  1, 1827.  Blessed  be  God  for  the  mercies  of  the  last 
year !  It  has  been  a  year  of  much  opposition  and  of  some  encour 
agement;  a  year  in  which  sinners,  as  we  believe,  have  been  con 
verted.  We  met  to-day  at  twelve  o'clock,  and  sung,  '  We  are  a 
garden  walled  around. '  I  read  the  fifth  chapter  of  Isaiah  and 
the  second  chapter  of  Ephesians,  and  offered  a  prayer  appropri 
ate  for  the  monthly  concert. ,  We  then  received  into  our  com 
munion  Dionysius  Carabct,  formerly  Archbishop  of  Jerusalem, 
and  Gregory  VVortabet,  also  Mrs.  Maria  Abbott,  wife  of  the  Eng 
lish  consul,  an  Italian  lady,  and  formerly  a  papist.  The  two 
former  assented  to  the  Articles  of  Faith  and  to  the  Covenant  in 
Arabic,  arid  Mrs.  Abbott  in  English.  Mr.  Bird  then  offered  the 
consecrating  prayer  in  Arabic,  for  those  who  had  publicly  given 
themselves  to  God.  We  afterwards  addressed  them  on  the  impor 
tance  of  living  godly  lives  and  of  adorning  their  profession.  I 
broke  and  distributed  the  bread,  having  offered  the  prayer  in 
English.  Mr.  Bird  then  prayed  in  Arabic,  and  distributed  the 
wine,  and  we  sang,  — 

'  Why  was  I  made  to  hear  thy  voice, 
And  enter  while  there's  room  ? ' 

"  After  the  benediction  was  pronounced,  all,  as  if  unwilling 
to  leave  the  place,  took  their  seats;  and  we  again,  in  Arabic, 
addressed  those  who  had  recently  professed  to  renounce  the 
world.  I  made  some  remarks  to  the  spectators  who  were  pres 
ent.  The  whole  was  a  scene  of  deep  solemnity  and  interest. 
It  was  the  day  (always  dear  to  us)  of  the  monthly  concert ;  it 
was  the  first  day  of  the  year;  it  was  a  renewred  consecration  of 
ourselves  to  Christ,  and  a  presentation  to  Him  of  the  first-fruits 


MISSIONARIES   DENOUNCED.  95 

of  this  mission  ;  it  was  the  '  reviving  of  the  stones  out  of  the 
heaps  of  the  rubbish,'  amidst  the  desolations  of  many  genera 
tions;  the  rearing  up  of  a  church  '  upon  the  foundation  of  the 
apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  Himself  being  the  chief 
corner-stone,'  which  church,  we  have  confidence  to  believe,  will 
live  and  flourish  long  after  we  have  gone  to  render  up  our 
account. 

"  We  prayed  for  our  beloved  Asaad  Shidiak,  who  would 
doubtless  have  been  with  us  were  he  not  in  bonds  for  the  testi 
mony  of  Jesus.  We  thought  of  our  beloved  Fisk  and  Parsons, 
whose  benevolent  hearts  would  have  been  filled  with  unspeakable 
joy  at  such  a  sight  before  they  went  to  heaven.  We  looked 
around  upon  several  weeping  individuals  present,  of  different 
communions,  some  of  whom  are  desirous  of  uniting  themselves 
to  us,  and  whom  we  shall  probably  admit  to  Christian  fellow 
ship  on  the  next  sacramental  occasion,  at  the  monthly  concert 
in  February.  Oh  that  this  mission  might  henceforth  be  like 
4  the  tree  of  life,  bearing  twelve  manner  of  fruits,  and  yielding 
her  fruit  every  month ! ' 

"January  14.  Some  time  since  the  people  of  the  mountain 
were  forbidden  to  speak  the  word  Bird.  But  bird,  in  Arabic, 
signifies  coll :  they  therefore  were  under  the  necessity  of  using 
a  different  word.  Afterwards  came  an  order  that  nothing  should 
be  said  in  reference  to  us;  no  questions  should  be  asked  about 
us;  no  hints  given  respecting  us  and  our  labors;  that  we  should 
not  be  in  remembrance.  To-day  an  order  was  read  in  the  church 
in  Beyrout,  which  had  been  previously  read  on  the  mountain, 
that  no  one  should  speak  to  us,  enter  our  houses,  serve  us  in 
any  capacity,  buy  or  sell,  receive  any  of  our  books,  receive  our 
charity,  &c.  It  was  read  with  loud  vociferations  and  threat 
ening  aspect.  We  were  called  'heretics,'  'accursed,'  &c. 
Something  of  the  same  nature  was  proclaimed  in  the  Latin 
church,  and  also  in  the  Greek  church.  *  No  person  shall  buy  or 
sell,  except  those  who  have  the  mark  of  the  beast  in  their  fore 
heads  ' !  O  Lord,  we  are  oppressed ;  undertake  for  us. 

"January  28,  Sabbath.  To-day  there  was  another  blast  in 
the  Greek  church,  similar  to  that  in  the  Maronite.  Great  were 
the  threatenings  against  all  who  should  presume  to  have  any 
connection  with  us.  They  are  to  be  carried  to  the  moot  selim  * 
to  be  bastinaded.  The  waked  f  is  very  furious.  But  to-day  we 
had  more  than  usual  to  read  with  us.  One  saved  himself  from 
a  bastinading  by  twice  fleeing  to  me.  Next  Sabbath  all  are  to 
be  excommunicated  who  do  not  leave  us. 

"January  29.  The  Greek  priests  are  active  to-day  in  pro 
hibiting  and  threatening  from  house  to  house;  but  the  work 
goes  on.  Jf  we  had  a  church,  and  the  people  were  left  at  lib 
erty,  we  should  have  the  largest  congregation  in  the  city." 

*  Governor.  f  Lieutenant. 


96  FORTY   YEARS  IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

The  monthly  concert  and  communion  season  in  March  was 
another  occasion  of  very  deep  and  tender  interest.  There 
were  present,  besides  Messrs.  Bird  and  Goodell,  Rev.  Eli 
Smith,  who  had  just  arrived  in  the  country  ;  Mr.  Nicolayson, 
of  the  London  Jews'  Society,  who  had  been  some  time  in 
Syria ;  Messrs.  Gobat  (now  the  venerable  Bishop  of  Jerusa 
lem)  and  Kugler,  destined  for  Abyssinia,  and  Mr.  Mueller, 
missionary  to  Egypt,  all  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  ; 
and  an  Abyssinian,  who  had  been  sent  to  Egypt  by  the  King 
of  Abyssinia  to  procure  a  bishop  for  the  church  in  that  coun 
try,  and  of  whom  Mr.  Goodell  said :  "  The  Abyssinian, 
'  though  black,'  is  '  comely  as  the  tents  of  Kedar,  as  the  cur 
tains  of  Solomon,'  possessing,  as  we  have  reason  to  hope,  the 
graces  of  the  Holy  Spirit."  The  missionaries  above  named 
all  took  part  in  the  services  of  the  day,  which  was  observed 
as  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer. 

"  Among  those  who  surrounded  the  table  of  the  Lord," 
says  Mr.  Goodell,  "  were  individuals  who  belonged,  or  had 
belonged,  to  the  Episcopal,  Congregational,  Lutheran,  Lu 
theran  Reformed,  Moravian,  Latin,  Armenian,  Greek  Catho 
lic,  and  Abyssinian  churches.  Indeed,  we  were  from  Europe, 
Asia,  Africa,  and  America ;  spoke  about  as  many  languages 
as  were  spoken  on  the  day  of  Pentecost ;  and  represented 
almost  all  the  principal  denominations  of  Christians  in  the 
world.  But,  though  we  were  literally  from  the  four  quarters 
of  the  globe,  and  represented  so  many  churches  and  spoke 
so  many  languages,  we  were  in  all  but  sixteen  souls." 

Fiercer  and  still  more  fierce  raged  the  persecution  against 
the  missionaries  and  against  all  who  were  under  their  instruc 
tions.  The  former  could  not  be  molested  legally ;  but  all  * 
sects  and  classes  were  aroused  against  them,  and  whatever 
power  the  various  ecclesiastical  authorities  possessed  over 
their  own  people  was  used  to  the  uttermost  to  break  up  their 
intercourse  with  the  mission  families.  To  give  the  ordinary 
salutation  to  one  of  the  missionaries,  or  to  render  them  any 
service  whatsoever,  was  made  a  penal  offence.  For  such 


ASA  AD   SIIIDIAK.  97 

offonces  some  were  thrown  into  prison,  others  were  beaten, 
others  had  soldiers  quartered  on  them,  and  one  was  perse 
cuted  unto  death.  Nor  was  it  only  the  nominal  Christian 
sects  that  rose  up  against  the  missionaries.  All  the  Turkish 
authorities  in  the  pashalik  were  bribed  or  stirred  up  to  throw 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  their  prosecuting  their  work.  For 
months  the  missionaries  did  not  dare  to  be  seen  upon  their 
house-tops  or  in  the  street,  from  fear  of  personal  violence ; 
and  when  they  lay  down  at  night  they  knew  not  what  assault 
might  be  made  upon  them  before  the  morning.  Mr.  Goodell 
subsequently  wrote  in  regard  to  this  period  and  its  perils :  — 

"  Daring  the  last  two  years  of  our  stay  at  Beyrout,  I  seldom 
closed  my  eyes  in  sleep  without  first  thinking  over  ways  and 
means  of  escape,  if  our  slumbers  should  be  disturbed  by  ene 
mies.  I  seldom  walked  abroad  without  looking  for  rocks  and 
bushes  and  caves  and  pits  into  which  the  persecuted  might  flee 
in  the  hour  of  danger.  Often  have  1  thought  of  Obadiah's  two 
caves,  in  which  he  hid  a  hundred  prophets  of  the  Lord,  and  fed 
them  with  bread  and  water;  and  often  have  I  said  to  myself, 
What  would  I  not  give  for  one  such  cave,  to  which  we  and  our 
friends  might  repair  in  case  of  need  !  For  several  months 
before  we  left  Beyrout  I  had  many  of  my  things  packed  up,  that 
I  might  be  ready  to  go  anywhere  at  the  shortest  notice,  and  my 
money  so  separated  and  disposed  of  that  I  might  not  even  bo 
hurried  off:  to  prison  penniless." 

Cases  of  extreme  persecution  occurred.  The  name  of 
Asaad  Shidiak,  already  mentioned,  is  one  which  will  always 
be  associated  with  the  history  of  modern  missions  in  Syria, 
as  is  that  of  the  martyr  Stephen  with  the  annals  of  the  early 
Christian  church.  He  was  a  Maronite  youth,  highly  edu 
cated,  who  had  been  in  the  service  of  Mr.  King  as  literary 
assistant,  although  not  at  that  time  fully  enlightened  in 
regard  to  the  errors  and  superstitions  of  his  own  church. 
When  Mr.  King's  farewell  letter  on  his  leaving  Syria  was  pub 
lished,  —  a  document  which  produced  a  powerful  impression 
throughout  a  large  portion  of  the  Turkish  empire,  —  Asaad 
attempted  a  reply  to  it.  His  studies  and  meditations  while 
preparing  this  reply  were  in  a  measure  instrumental  in  open 
ing  his  eyes ;  and  when  he  afterward  entered  the  family  of 
5  o 


98  FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

Mr.  Bird  as  liis  teacher  in  Arabic,  he  came  also  to  learn  the 
truth  of  the  Gospel,  and  to  be  renewed  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

After  his  conversion,  he  made  rapid  progress  in  the  divine 
life  ;  but  his  defection  excited  the  wrath  of  his  former  eccle 
siastical  superiors,  who  forbade  him  to  have  any  further 
connection  with  the  "Bible-men."  The  patriarch,  he  was 
informed, "  had  received  instructions  from  Rome  to  persecute 
these  men  by  all  means  in  his  power  so  long  as  one  of  them 
should  remain  in  the  country."  With  great  mildness  of 
manner,  but  with  firmness,  he  adhered  to  the  truth  as  he  had 
learned  it  in  the  school  of  Christ,  never  fearing  to  meet  his 
adversaries,  and  to  reason  with  them  out  of  the  Holy  Script 
ures.  More  than  once,  at  the  invitation  of  the  patriarch,  he 
went  into  the  interior,  where  he  held  long  controversies  with 
his  former  teachers,  and  where  they  used  every  eifort,  even 
resorting  to  imprisonment  and  violence,  to  induce  him  to 
renounce  his  new  opinions  and  submit  to  their  control. 
Twice  he  made  his  escape  from  confinement,  and  returned, 
once  in  disguise,  to  rejoin  his  friends,  the  missionaries,  at 
Beyrout.  At  length,  after  repeated  attempts  to  persuade  him 
to  put  himself  in  the  power  of  his  enemies,  he  was  treacher 
ously  thrown  into  the  hands  of  the  Maronite  patriarch,  from 
which  he  never  escaped.  He  endured  almost  unheard-of 
tortures.  He  was  kept  in  prison  with  a  heavy  chain  around 
his  neck;  and,  although  he  survived  for  years,  he  never 
regained  his  liberty.  The  manner  of  his  death,  and  even 
the  time,  are  not  known  to  this  day,  except  to  his  persecutors, 
who  never  relaxed  their  hold  or  ceased  to  torment  him  until 
he  joined  the  noble  army  of  martyrs  before  the  throne.* 

In  tbe  midst  of  these  troubles,  in  May,  1827,  the  plague 
broke  out  at  Beyrout.  All  classes  were  seized  with  a  panic, 
which  immediately  suspended  the  persecution  ;  but  the  people 
being  allowed  to  come  to  the  houses  of  the  missionaries, 

*  The  Memoirs  of  Asaad  Shidiak,  containing  all  that  was  known 
of  the  circumstances  of  his  death,  were  published  a  few  years  since  in 
a  volume,  written  by  his  beloved  teacher  in  Christ,  Rev.  Isaac  Bird. 


STOLEN   VISITS.  99 

where  they  heard  the  word  of  life  unmolested,  the  visitation 
was  overruled  for  the  furtherance  of  the  Gospel.  The  fears 
of  an  invasion  by  Mohammed  Ali  had  the  same  beneficial 
effect. 

In  the  fall  of  1827  fresh  troubles  arose.  The  Greek 
revolution  was  still  in  progress ;  and  when  it  became  known 
that  the  European  powers  had  determined  to  interfere  in 
behalf  of  Greece  and  against  Turkey,  all  who  enjoyed  Eng 
lish  protection  (including  the  American  missionaries)  were  in 
great  embarrassment.  Many  of  the  Franks  left  the  city,  and 
the  native  Christians  fled  in  alarm  to  the  mountains.  The 
Turks  were  more  and  more  exasperated  with  every  fresh 
rumor  in  regard  to  the  war,  and  the  situation  of  the  mission 
aries  became  exceedingly  perilous.  By  the  advice  of  the 
English  consul,  Mr.  Goodell  sent  his  family  to  Der  Kalaat, 
formerly  a  Roman  castle,  but  now  a  Maronite  convent,  on 
the  mountain,  about  three  hours  distant.  He  remained  at 
Beyrout,  prosecuting  the  work  of  the  mission  among  the 
Greeks  and  Arabs.  It  was  only  by  stealth  that  he  was  able 
to  visit  his  household,  being  closely  watched  by  the  enemies 
of  the  mission  in  the  city,  and  watched  for  by  those  on  the 
mountain.  Of  the  circumstances  in  which  he  saw  his  beloved 
ones,  he  wrote :  — 

"  I  visited  my  family  several  times  in  their  retreat,  going 
up  in  the  evening  after  dark,  climbing  in  at  a  back  window, 
staying  as  a  sort  of  prisoner  in  Mrs.  Goodell's  room  during 
the  day,  and  climbing  back  out  of  the  window  again  in  the 
night,  or,  rather,  very  early  in  the  morning,  and  coming  down 
to  Beyrout.  Thus  I  repeatedly  went  and  came  without 
turning  the  mountain  upside  down.  The  monks  generally, 
if  not  always,  found  out  that  I  was  there ;  but  my  stay  was 
too  short  to  excite  much  alarm.  They  had  previously 
threatened  to  burn  down  their  convent  and  leave  the  place, 
if  I  presumed  to  go  up ;  but  whether,  being  made  entirely  of 
stone,  except  the  doors,  it  was  found  to  be  fire-proof,  or 
whether  from  some  other  cause,  it  still  remains  a  monument 
of  their  long  suffering. 


100     FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE. 

"In  one  of  my  visits,  I  was  unintentionally  detained  a 
day  longer  than  usual,  staying  two  days  instead  of  one,  which 
gave  much  uneasiness  to  the  more  orthodox  monks,  especially 
as  they  saw  that  some  of  their  number  were  swerving  from  the 
rules  and  duties  inculcated,  and  were  fond  of  stealing  away 
from  the  convent  to  the  Druze  Chapel  to  converse  with  our 
Armenians.  A  complaint  was  finally  made  against  me  to 
the  English  consul ;  and  when,  a  short  time  after,  a  monk, 
whom  they  had  bound,  to  prevent  his  going  any  more  to  the 
Druze  Chapel,  mocked  them  by  an  unexpected  escape  from 
their  hands,  they  made  still  louder  complaints  against  me. 
They  thought  it  very  unreasonable  that  I  should  be  permitted 
to  walk  abroad  like  other  men  upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth ; 
for,  besides  all  the  injury  I  might  do  to  their  convent,  I  might 
perhaps,  on  the  way  in  going  or  returning,  salute  some  per 
son  ;  and,  if  he  should  return  the  salutation,  he  would  be, 
ipso  facto,  under  the  patriarch's  great  excommunication  ! 
Or  some  individual  might  have  the  ill-luck  to  give  me  a  glass 
of  water,  and  thereby  fall  into  the  same  condemnation.  The 
consul,  in  the  course  of  different  conversations  with  them, 
told  them  we  had  as  much  right  to  go  to  any  part  of  the 
country  as  they  had ;  for  we  had  a  firman  from  the  grand 
seignior,  giving  us  the  privilege ;  and  he  assured  them  that, 
while  they  were  pouring  out  curses  upon  ws,  we  were  praying 
that  God  would  bless  them,  and  while  they  were  attempting 
all  manner  of  evil  against  us,  we  were  attempting  all  manner 
of  good  for  their  souls  and  bodies." 

While  environed  with  such  perils,  he  wrote  to  a  friend  in 
the  United  States,  under  date  of  Aug.  20,  1827  :  — 

"  An  executioner  in  this  country,  who  had  become  famous 
for  taking  off  heads  gracefully,  is  said  to  have  boasted  one  day 
to  his  friend  that  he  could  take  off  a  man's  head  without  his 
feeling  it.  His  word  being  disputed,  he  challenged  his  friend 
to  stand  forth  and  submit  to  an  experiment.  His  friend 
immediately  laid  his  neck  bare  and  stood  forth.  The  execu 
tioner  made  a  flourish  with  his  sword ;  the  latter  stood  firm 
and  said,  'You  did  not  touch  me.'  The  former  replied, 
*  Nod  and  see.'  He  nodded  —  and  his  head  dropped  to  the 
ground.  I  assure  you,  we  almost  nod  now  and  then  to  see 
whether  our  heads  are  really  on  our  shoulders  or  not  in 
these  critical,  perilous  times." 


BATTLE   OF  NAVARINO.  101 

In  November  he  wrote  from  Mansooreea,  another  retreat, 
to  which  he  was  compelled  to  fly  with  his  family  :  — 

"MANSOOREEA,  Nov.  27,  1827. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  prepared  letters  to  send  you  on  the 
7th  inst.  by  a  French  corvette,  which  came  in  early  in 
the  morning  to  convoy  vessels,  it  was  said  or  supposed,  to 
Alexandria.  As  one  had  been  daily  expected  for  this  pur 
pose  more  than  a  week,  and  as  favorable  accounts  of  the 
progress  of  the  negotiations  at  Constantinople  had  been 
received,  nothing  of  an  adverse  nature  was  apprehended. 
I  sent  twice  into  the  city,  however,  in  the  course  of  the 
day  to  know  if  there  was  any  thing  new,  and  was  assured 
there  was  nothing.  Just  at  dark  the  unexpected  intelligence 
reached  us  that  a  terrible  battle  had  been  fought  some 
where  on  the  20th  ult.  between  the  combined  European 
fleets  and  the  Turkish  fleet,*  in  which  the  latter  were 
entirely  destroyed;  and  that  all  the  Franks  in  Beyrout 
had  already  fled  in  great  precipitation  from  the  city,  some 
to  the  mountains,  and  others  on  board  the  corvette. 

"  It  was  one  of  those  dark  nights  of  thunder,  storm,  and 
tempest,  when  every  man  in  this  country,  who  has  a  cloak 
and  a  hut,  feels  happy  in  wrapping  himself  up,  and  lying 
secure  in  a  dry  corner.  The  corvette,  it  was  said,  would 
be  off  before  morning,  to  go  we  could  not  learn  whither. 
Mrs.  Goodell  was  very  ill  in  bed,  and  unable  even  to  sit 
up.  It  had  become  no  longer  advisable  for  me  to  go  to 
Der  Kalaat,  much  less  to  reside  there,  even  if  I  should 
succeed  in  getting  my  family  there  in  safety.  The  flight 
of  the  Franks  at  such  an  hour,  in  such  a  storm,  and  on  the 
arrival,  too,  of  the  corvette,  very  justly  excited  much  alarm 
in  the  city  ;  and  it  could  not  be  conjectured  what  the  Mussul 
mans  would  do  in  their  rage  and  fury,  when  they  should 
first  hear  the  report  of  the  battle.  There  was  no  time  for 
delay.  There  was  no  one  to  advise.  And  we  mast,  if 
possible,  be  in  some  place  of  security  by  morning  light. 
We  promised  a  handsome  reward  to  an  Arab,  if  he  would 
grope  his  way  through  the  darkness  and  storm  with  a  few 
lines  to  the  English  consul  at  Der  Kalaat,  and  return  with 
an  answer  before  three  o'clock  in  the  morning.  After  hav 
ing  consulted  very  seriously  with  one  of  us  whether  he 
should  take  his  pipe  on  so  perilous  an  expedition,  he  finally 

*  The  battle  of  Navarino. 


102  FORTY   YEARS  IN  THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

concluded  to  go  without  it.  In  the  mean  time,  we  put  into 
trunks,  boxes,  and  pillow-cases  our  books,  papers,  and 
whatever  was  most  valuable  and  most  important  to  be  pre 
served,  and  endeavored  to  procure  camels,  mules,  and 
asses,  to  convey  away  ourselves  and  effects  we  knew  not 
yet  whither.  But,  as  all  the  animals  had  been  previously 
engaged  by  others,  we  were  able  to  find  only  two  asses. 
Precisely  at  half -past  two  o'clock,  the  messenger  returned, 
and  had  as  much  to  say  of  his  hairbreadth  escapes,  amidst 
darkness  and  thunder  and  headlong  steeps,  as  though  he 
had  barely  survived  some  bloody  political  revolution.  The 
consul  wrote  that,  only  a  few  hours  before,  he  had  very 
providentially  taken  of  the  Emeer  Shedeed  a  large  and, 
for  this  country,  commodious  house  at  Mansooreea ;  and  he 
advised  that  we  betake  ourselves  thither,  where  he  and 
his  family  would  join  us  at  their  leisure,  and  consult  what 
steps  were  to  be  taken  for  our  further  security. 

"At  daylight  we  were  all  ready  to  start,  except  Mrs. 
Goodell,  who  appeared  really  too  ill  even  to  leave  the  bed. 
Fortunately,  at  this  moment  several  Arabs  came  and  re 
ported  to  us  that  the  governor  sent  ten  soldiers  after  the 
French  consul  the  evening  before,  who  followed  him  till 
the  darkness  and  storm  forced  them  to  give  up  the  chase. 
This  so  counteracted  the  debilitating  effects  of  pain  and 
disease  that  before  sunrise  we  were  all,  in  company  with 
Mr.  Smith  and  an  English  gentleman,  on  the  way,  most 
of  us  of  course  on  foot.  As  it  was  very  muddy,  and  as  we 
had  to  stop  occasionally  to  rest,  we  did  not  reach  our  place 
of  destination  till  near  noon ;  but  we  all  escaped  safe,  —  Mr. 
Smith  and  his  companion  to  Der  Kalaat,  and  the  remainder 
to  Mansooreea.  The  storm  had  providentially  spent  itself 
in  the  night;  but  we  experienced  the  effects  of  it  to  such 
a  degree  in  the  badness  of  the  road  that  we  could  not  but 
remember  the  exhortation  of  our  Saviour,  '  Pray  ye  that 
your  flight  be  not  in  the  winter.'  We  immediately  de 
spatched  a  messenger  to  inform  Mr.  Bird  of  what  had 
happened ;  and  about  sunset  obtained  some  refreshment 
for  ourselves  and  little  ones,  having  tasted  scarcely  any 
thing  for  twenty-four  hours.  The  fright  and  flight,  together 
with  the  change  of  air  and  of  circumstances,  has  entirely 
restored  Mrs.  Goodell  to  health;  and  our  children  were 
never  more  lively  and  healthy  than  they  are  at  present. 
"  With  affectionate  salutations,  yours,  &c., 

"W.  GOODELL." 


DRIVEN  FROM  BEYROUT.  103 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MR.  GOODELL  and  his  family  returned  from  their 
mountain  retreat  to  Beyrout,  December  27,  and 
were  rejoined  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bird,  from  whom  they  had 
been  separated  about  five  months.  They  hoped  now  to  be 
able  to  resume  their  labors  ;  but  the  political  disturbances 
continued,  and  with  the  opening  of  another  year,  1828,  they 
had  the  prospect  of  losing  all  consular  protection.  On  the 
28th  of  January  a  French  man-of-war  arrived  at  Beyrout 
from  Alexandria,  and  one  from  Smyrna,  to  lower  the  French 
flag  and  take  on  board  the  French  consul  and  subjects.  The 
English  consul  also  received  instructions  to  strike  his  flag, 
but  it  was  some  time  before  he  was  able  to  leave  the 
country.  Early  in  the  year  also  the  plague  reappeared  at 
Beyrout.  It  was  at  length  decided  that  duty  required  the 
mission  families  to  leave  the  country  until  quiet  should  be 
restored.  Even  to  leave  was  a  matter  of  great  difficulty, 
the  authorities  for  a  long  time  withholding  permission ;  but, 
having  chartered  a  vessel  to  take  them  and  their  effects  to 
Malta,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Goodell  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bird,  with 
their  families,  including  their  Armenian  helpers  and  their 
families,  Mr.  Smith  and  Mr.  Nicolayson  and  family,  set  sail 
on  the  2d  of  May. 

Notwithstanding  the  violent  opposition  which  their  labors 
had  excited,  and  the  disastrous  circumstances  in  which  they 
were  called  to  leave  their  interesting  field,  the  mission  had 
thus  far  been  remarkably  successful.  The  actual  state  of 
things  when  they  came  into  Syria,  and  indeed  up  to  the 
time  of  their  leaving,  so  far  as  the  nominally  Christian 


104  FORTY   YEARS  IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

churches  and  people  are  concerned,  was  thus  described  by 
Mr.  Goodell:  — 

"  I  came  to  Syria  with  the  hope  that  I  should  find  at  least 
some  individual,  however  obscure,  who  sighed  for  the  abomi 
nations  committed,  and  who  worshipped  God  in  spirit  and  in 
truth ;  and  I  do  not  now  say  that  no  such  individual  is  to  be 
found,  but  I  can  say  in  truth  that  no  such  person  has  been 
found  in  Syria  by  ourselves  (those  of  course  excepted  who 
appear  to  have  been  benefited  by  our  instructions),  and  that 
all  our  researches  have  not  brought  to  light  one  who  appeared 
even  ashamed  or  afraid  to  lie,  and  profane  the  name  and  Sab 
baths  of  the  Most  High.  On  the  contrary,  the  more  we  have 
seen  and  heard,  the  more  we  have  conversed  with  the  people, 
and  the  more  diligent  our  inquiries  have  been  to  ascertain 
their  real  state,  the  more  painful  has  been  the  conviction  and 
more  overwhelming  the  evidence  that  in  all  these  churches, 
Jewish  and  Christian, '  there  is  none  that  seeketh  after  God.' " 

But  although  they  had  found  the  land  and  the  people  in 
such  a  state  when  they  entered  the  country,  seldom  has 
missionary  work  been  crowned  so  speedily  with  such  encour 
aging  results.  The  Gospel  had  not  only  been  proclaimed  ex 
tensively  among  the  people,  but  from  among  the  Armenians, 
Greeks,  and  Maronites,  men  had  been  raised  up  who  were 
preaching  the  truth  faithfully  and  fearlessly  from  house  to 
house ;  schools  had  been  established,  in  which  hundreds  of 
children  and  adults  of  both  sexes  were  taught;  a  decided 
impression  had  been  made  upon  the  Oriental  prejudice  against 
the  education  of  women  ;  tracts  had  been  widely  distributed, 
which  were  eagerly  read  and  discussed  by  a  people  peculiarly 
given  to  controversy ;  a  spirit  of  inquiry,  although  in  the 
main  accompanied  by  a  spirit  of  opposition,  had  been  exten 
sively  excited ;  all  classes  of  people,  of  all  nationalities,  had 
been  aroused,  —  Armenians,  Greek  and  Roman  Catholics, 
including  Maronites  and  Mohammedans,  —  moved  as  mud, 
perhaps,  by  the  zealous  opposition  of  their  religious  teachers 
as  by  the  truth  itself,  but  thoroughly  aroused  to  the  con 
sciousness  that  a  new  element  of  power  had  been  introduced 
among  them.  All  these  were  exceedingly  hopeful  indications ; 


SAD   DISAPPOINTMENTS.  105 

and  sad  was  the  disappointment  when  those  who  had  begun 
to  see  the  fruit  of  their  labors  were  called  to  abandon  the 
field  and  leave  the  harvest  to  perish.  They  left,  however, 
in  the  full  expectation  of  returning  as  soon  as  the  political 
storm  which  was  passing  over  the  land  should  subside. 

The  voyage  from  Beyrout  to  Malta  was  far  from  pleasant. 
There  were  in  all  twenty-one  persons,  besides  the  ship's 
company,  crowded  together  in  a  little  Austrian  trabaccolo  of  a 
hundred  tons.  Only  about  half  the  number  could  get  into  the 
cabin  at  once.  They  were  obliged  to  live  and  take  their  meals 
chiefly  on  deck  in  all  kinds  of  weather,  without  table  or 
chairs  ;  and  when,  after  being  thirty  days  at  sea,  the  vessel 
reached  port,  they  were  obliged  to  go  into  quarantine  for 
thirty  days  more. 

From  the  lazaretto  at  Malta  Mr.  Goodell  wrote  to  a 
friend  in  America:  — 

"  It  grieves  me  to  say  that  all  our  missionary  operations 
in  Syria  are  at  present  suspended,  and  'all  our  pleasant 
things  laid  waste/  The  step  we  have  taken  in  securing  a 
temporary  asylum  in  this  island  will  not  probably  be  alto 
gether  unexpected,  if  you  have  had  an  eye  to  the  political 
tempest  that  has  been  for  several  months  gathering  in  the 
East,  though  you  may  not  have  seen  and  heard  so  distinctly 
as  we  have  the  lightnings  and  thunderings  which  gave  a  more 
fearful  aspect  to  the  impending  storm.  It  is  with  emotions 
peculiarly  tender  that  we  look  back  from  our  present  retreat 
to  the  former  scene  of  our  labors  ;  to  the  schools  that  once 
flourished ;  the  individuals  that  wept  for  their  sins  and  lis 
tened  with  deep  earnestness  to  the  story  of  redeeming  love  ; 
to  the  church  gathered  there  ;  small,  indeed,  and  despised,  but 
literally  taken  from  '  many  nations  and  kindreds  and  tongues/ 
and  '  bailded  together  for  a  habitation  of  God  through  the 
Spirit ; '  to  our  various  labors,  public  and  private,  for  the 
spiritual  benefit  of  the  people,  together  with  the  shame, 
reproaches,  and  sufferings  to  which  we  were  exposed  for  the 
sake  of  the  glorious  Gospel  of  our  blessed  Lord ;  and  to  the 
travels  and  researches  and  sacrifices  and  toils  and  sorrows 
and  life  and  death  of  him  (Mr.  Fisk)  who  sleeps  sweetly  in 
our  own  garden,  undisturbed  by  the  rage  and  blasphemy  of 
God's  enemies." 
6* 


106  FORTY   YEARS  IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

The  missionaries  of  the  American  Board  to  the  countries 
lying  on  the  Mediterranean  were  now  nearly  all  gathered  at 
Malta,  on  account  of  commotions  which  were  agitating  the 
Turkish  empire.  Malta,  being  under  English  control,  was  a 
place  in  which  they  were  sure  of  protection  in  all  circum 
stances,  and  on  this  account  it  had  been  selected  as  a  printing- 
house  for  the  Orient.  The  mission  was  supplied  with  fonts 
of  type  for  printing  in  Italian,  Modern  Greek,  Armenian,  and 
Arabic.  After  his  arrival  at  the  island,  Mr.  Goodell  took  the 
superintendence  of  the  press,  devoting  himself  at  the  same 
time  to  the  work  of  translation  and  to  preparing  books  and 
tracts  for  publication.  Some  idea  of  the  extent  to  winch  the 
press  was  used  may  be  gained  from  the  statement  that  from 
July  1,  1822,  to  Dec.  31,  1828,  there  were  issued  at 
Malta,  of  books  and  tracts,  7,852,200  pages,  and  more  than 
5,000,000  pages  were  put  in  circulation.  Mr.  Temple  left 
for  a  visit  to  the  United  States,  a  few  days  after  the  arrival 
of  the  brethren  from  Syria,  and  Mr.  Bird  made  a  missionary 
tour  on  the  coast  of  Barbary  in  the  spring  and  summer, 
preaching  in  Arabic,  and  disseminating  the  printed  word. 

There  was  little  of  incident  in  the  life  of  a  missionary  at 
Malta  during  the  sojourn  of  Mr.  Goodell,  while  he  was  wait 
ing  for  the  troubles  in  the  East  to  subside.  This  quiet  life 
gave  him  an  opportunity  to  cultivate  the  acquaintance  of  his 
family,  such  as  he  had  not  enjoyed  before.  He  wrote,  Oct. 
19,  1828:  — 

"  This  is  the  first  time  that  I  have  lived  alone  with  my 
family  since  my  marriage.  On  our  arrival  at  Malta,  in  1823, 
we  lived  in  the  same  house  with  the  families  of  Messrs.  Bird 
and  Temple.  When  we  first  arrived  at  Beyrout  we  lived 
for  nearly  a  year  with  Mr.  Bird,  and  when  we  took  another 
house,  we  had  immediately  Carabet,  and  soon  after  his  wife, 
with  us  constantly,  besides  many  Arabs  continually  about  us. 
We  have  now  for  a  whole  month  been  alone,  and  we  bless 
God  for  this  retirement  and  relief  from  care  and  anxiety. 
Though  I  spend  most  of  my  days  at  the  press,  yet  I  see  and 
enjoy  more  of  my  family  than  I  ever  have  before.  The 


LETTER   FROM   MALTA.  107 

society  of  my  wife  and  children  is  indeed  a  comfort,  which 
my  circumstances  have  never  before  permitted  me  to  enjoy." 

In  January,  1829,  he  wrote  :  "  On  the  8th  Mr.  Anderson 
took  tea  with  us,  and  we  had  a  fire  in  the  evening,  the  first 
we  have  had  since  leaving  America,"  which  was  more  than 
six  years  before. 

To  a  friend  at  Andover,  Mass.,  he  wrote  from  Malta,  under 
date  of  March  24,  1829  :  — 

"  We  thank  you  and  all  our  good  friends  at  Andover  for 
so  affectionately  and  prayerfully  '  remembering  us  in  our  low 
estate.'  Though  we  feel  unworthy  of  such  remembrance,  yet 
we  are,  I  trust,  of '  the  goodly  company '  of  those  who  consti 
tute  '  the  body  of  Christ ; '  and  if  so,  we  are  '  members  in 
particular,  and  members  one  of  another.'  We  '  believe  in  the 
holy  catholic  church,  the  communion  of  saints.'  We  love  to 
feel  united  in  spirit,  labors,  sufferings,  privileges,  and  bless 
ings,  with  all  *  the  household  of  faith,'  with  all  ( the  elect,' 
who  '  have  obtained  like  precious  faith,'  whose  '  names  are 
written  in  heaven,'  and  who  '  are  come  unto  Mount  Zion,  tho 
city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem ; '  with  all  who 
'  are  builded  together  for  an  habitation  of  God  through  the 
Spirit,'  and  who  '  in  every  place  call  upon  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord,  both  theirs  and  ours.'  Whether,  like  Asaad 
Shicliak,  they  are  in  prison  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus ;  like 
Dr.  Carey,  translating  the  Scriptures  ;  like  the  pious  poor, 
exhibiting  'an  example  of  suffering,  affliction,  and  of  pa 
tience  ; '  or  like  the  students  of  Andover,  making  their  par 
ticular  study  those  mysteries  of  redemption,  to  look  into 
which  the  angels  again  and  again  turn  away  their  minds  from 
other  glories  and  wonders  in  heaven  ;  wherever  they  may  be 
found,  and  in  whatever  circumstances,  we  pray  that  '  grace 
may  be  to  them,  and  peace  from  God  our  Father,  and  from 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.' 

"  My  mind  has,  I  believe,  been  the  more  led  into  this  train 
of  thought  from  our  having  been  recently  called  to  part  with 
our  beloved  friends,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nicolayson,  with  little  pros 
pect  of  our  ever  being  permitted  to  live  and  labor  with  them 
again  here  below.  Though  he  was  German  and  she  was  Irish 
and  we  were  American,  and  though  we  were  all  strongly 
marked  with  our  national  peculiarities,  they  sometimes  smiling 


108  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

at  our  singularities  and  weaknesses,  and  we  in  our  turn  at 
theirs,  yet  we  all  loved  one  another  as  '  fellow-heirs  and  of 
the  same  body/  We  have  been  together  in  many  scenes  of 
affliction  and  of  consolation  ;  have  often  united  in  prayer  and 
praise  in  social  and  public  worship  ;  have  many  times  sur 
rounded  the  table  of  the  Lord  together,  to  eat  of  the  same 
bread  and  drink  of  the  same  cup,  and  I  trust  that  we  have 
all  been  made  to  drink  into  the  same  Spirit ;  and,  though 
separated  in  body,  we  shall  never  be  separated  from  the  love 
of  God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 

"  It  is  pleasant  to  think  of  the  hours  of  religious  inter 
com  se  and  enjoyment  we  have  had  from  time  to  time  with 
many  of  the  dear  servants  of  God,  who  are  either  already 
now  in  heaven  or  on  their  way  thither.  And  it  is  pleasant 
to  think  of  that  day  when  the  last  pilgrim  from  this  vale  of 
tears  shall  arrive  at  his  long-sought  home,  and  shall  stand  on 
Mount  Zion  with  all  that  have  been  'redeemed  from  the 
earth,'  with  *  an  innumerable  company  of  angels,'  and  with 
*  the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the  first-born,'  and  with. 
'  Jesus  the  Mediator  of  the  New  Covenant.'  May  we  be  there ! 
And  may  none  of  those  near  and  dear  to  us  be  missing. 

"  Brother  Temple  writes  to  us  that  America  is  'Emmanuel's 
land,'  and  he  gives  us  such  glowing  descriptions  of  the  increase 
of  the  fruits  of  righteousness  there,  that  we  should  really  like 
once  more  to  go  over  into  that  garden  to  see  '  the  fruits  of 
the  valley,'  and  how  '  the  vine  flourishes  and  the  pomegran 
ates  bud.'  But  whether  we  are  ever  indulged  with  this 
privilege  or  not,  our  prayer  for  you  all  shall  ever  be, '  Awake, 
O  North  Wind ;  and  come  thou  South  ;  blow  upon  this  gar 
den,  that  the  spices  thereof  may  flow  out,'  more  and  more, 
6  to  the  glory  and  praise  of  God  ' ! 

"Malta,  May  26,  1829.  Two  Greek  pirates  are  to  be 
executed  to-morrow  morning  at  Florian.  They  appear  to 
be  deeply  criminal  and  awfully  hardened.  A  circumstance 
brought  forward  in  the  course  of  the  trial,  day  before  yester 
day,  strikingly  illustrates  the  distinction  made  in  the  papal 
and  Oriental  churches  between  the  religious  and  moral  char 
acter.  It  appeared  that  the  beef  and  anchovies  on  board  one 
of  the  English  vessels  which  they  pirated  were  left  untouched, 
and  the  circumstances  under  which  they  were  left  appeared 
to  the  court  so  peculiar  that  the  culprits  were  asked  the 
cause.  They  promptly  answered  that  it  was  at  the  time  of 


BIRTH-DAY.  109 

the  great  fast,  when  theil  church  allows  neither  meat  nor  fish 
to  be  eaten.  They  appeared  to  be  hardened  and  abandoned 
wretches,  enemies  alike  to  their  own  and  every  other  nation, 
and  yet  rigidly  maintaining  their  religious  character,  and, 
while  robbing,  plundering,  murdering,  and  stealing  the 
women  and  children  of  their  countrymen  and  selling  them 
to  the  Turks,  and  committing  other  atrocious  deeds,  they 
would  have  us  understand  that  they  were  not  so  wicked  as  to 
taste  of  meat  or  fish  when  prohibited  by  the  canons  of  their 
church.  The  religion  of  these  countries  has  nothing  to  do 
with  moral  character.  The  priests  do  not  and  dare  not  inter 
fere  with  this,  their  business  being  only  with  religion.  The 
priest  here,  in  confessing  these  men,  remarks  that  they  are 
very  religious,  and  quite  resigned  to  their  fate. 

"February  14, 1830.  My  birth-day.  I  am  now  thirty-eight 
years  old.  I  have  been  affected  this  morning  in  thinking  how 
good  God  has  been  to  me  ever  since  I  was  born,  and  how 
great  are  my  obligations  to  Him.  What  a  mercy  that  He 
has  permitted  me  to  enter  His  vineyard  and  take  part  in  the 
work  of  spreading  the  Gospel !  In  reflecting  on  His  kind 
ness  towards  me  through  the  whole  period  of  my  life,  the 
following  things  affect  my  mind,  as  particularly  calling  for 
gratitude  and  praise  to  the  Giver  of  every  good  and  perfect 
gift,  viz. :  religious  education  by  pious  parents  ;  divine  influ 
ence  at  an  early  period  of  my  life  ;  opportunity  to  acquire  a 
liberal  education ;  advantages  of  the  Theological  Seminary 
at  Andover  ;  the  privilege  of  being  a  minister  and  missionary 
of  the  cross  ;  an  affectionate,  wise,  and  discreet  partner  in 
life  ;  and  children  to  bring  up  for  God.  These  are  the  great 
points  which  are  the  first  to  strike  my  mind  on  every  retro 
spect  of  my  life ;  and  in  fixing  on  each  of  them  separately, 
how  many  blessings  to  be  thankful  for  under  each  one,  or 
connected  with  each  one  !  May  my  heart  be  always  fixed  on 
God,  that  I  may  always  sing  and  give  praise  to  Him  ! 

"May  1,  1830.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bird  and  their  little  cues, 
with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Whiting,  left  us,  amidst  our  prayers 
and  tears  and  benedictions,  and  sailed  for  Beyrout.  We 
believe  that  they  went  forth  in  obedience  to  the  divine  com 
mand,  and  that  the  pillar  of  cloud  will  go  before  them  by  day 
and  the  pillar  of  fire  by  night,  and  that  God  Himself  will  be 
with  them,  and  will  bless  and  comfort  them.  To  those  of  us 
who  had  been  so  long  associated  in  missionary  labor,  who 
had  passed  together  and  helped  each  other  through  so  many 


110          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

scenes  of  trouble  and  of  joy,  who  had  so  often  met  and  been 
refreshed  together  at  the  table  of  the  Lord,  and  who  had 
brought  the  little  ones  whom  God  hath  graciously  given  us 
to  the  same  baptismal  font  to  be  dedicated  to  the  Lord,  the 
separation  was  a  heavy  cross,  but  it  was  one  which  we  felt 
we  must  take  up  and  bear  cheerfully  for  the  sake  of  Jesus 
and  His  cause." 

The  following,  written  on  the  occasion  of  the  visit  of  the 
American  Episcopal  missionaries,  Rev.  Messrs.  Robertson  and 
Hill,  at  Malta,  on  their  way  to  Greece,  in  November,  1830, 
exhibits  the  truly  catholic  spirit  which  he  breathed  from  the 
day  that  he  entered  upon  his  missionary  work  until  he  rested 
from  his  labors  :  — 

"  I  cannot  express  how  happy  we  were  to  have  these 
beloved  missionaries  with  us  during  their  short  stay  in  this 
island,  and  '  to  help  them  on  their  way,  after  a  godly  sort.' 
To  all  missionaries,  of  whatever  denomination,  who  come 
with  such  a  spirit  and  with  such  enlarged  views  as  these 
manifested,  we  will  most  gladly  extend  the  right  hand  of  fel 
lowship,  and  bless  them  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  Indeed,  I 
believe  we  felt  that  we  belonged  to  but  one  church,  and  that 
the  church  universal." 

While  in  Syria  Mr.  Goodell,  with  the  aid  of  his  Armenian 
helpers,  Carabet  and  Wortabet.  had  commenced  the  transla 
tion  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  into  the  Armeno-Turkish.  He 
continued  the  work  after  reaching  Malta,  and  his  connection 
with  the  press  at  the  latter  place  afforded  a  favorable  oppor 
tunity  for  printing  it  under  his  own  supervision.  Accord 
ingly,  the  New  Testament  having  been  completed  and 
oare fully  revised,  the  printing  of  it  was  commenced  on  the 
8th  of  January,  1830,  and  finished  within  a  little  more  than 
a  year.  When  the  last  proof-sheets  had  been  corrected,  he 
wrote :  — 

"  My  obligations  to  God  are  exceedingly  great  that  He  has 
allowed  me  the  privilege  of  serving  Him  in  so  sacred  and 
important  a  work,  and  that  He  has  prolonged  my  life,  and 
given  me  health  and  strength  to  bring  it  to  a  close.  I  have 


TRANSLATION   OF   NEW   TESTAMENT.  Ill 

great  occasion  to  implore  forgiveness  that  from  day  to  day  I 
have  with  so  little  fervency  sought  the  aid  and  have  been  so 
little  under  the  influence  of  that  same  good  Spirit  by  which 
holy  men  of  God  were  moved  when  they  spake  and  wrote 
these  everlasting  truths.  May  the  sins  of  all  those  who  have 
been  in  any  way  employed  about  the  ark  of  the  Lord  be  for 
given  through  the  merits  of  Christ !  And  may  all  who  shall 
read  the  words  of  this  book  '  obtain  the  forgiveness  of  their 
sins  and  an  inheritance  among  them  who  are  sanctified ' ! 

"  Nothing  now  remains  but  that  it  should  be  commended 
to  the  blessing  of  God,  to  be  used  for  His  own  glory,  for  the 
increase  of  holiness  on  earth,  and  for  the  salvation  of  many 
souls.  May  it  go  forth  accompanied  by  that  Spirit  without 
which  the  mere  t  letter  killeth ' !  May  it  be  '  received  with 
all  joy,'  and  prove  a  '  savor  of  life  unto  life  ' !  May  those  who 
read  it  not  attempt  to  teach  it,  but  be  willing  it  should  teach 
them  !  May  they  yield  their  minds  to  all  the  information  it 
contains,  their  hearts  entirely  to  its  government,  their  con 
duct  to  its  direction,  and  their  opinions  to  its  decisions  !  May 
the  priests  and  bishops  read  it,  and  learn  what  that  faith  is 
for  which  they  are  to  contend  earnestly !  May  the  people 
read  it,  and  learn  to  '  prove  all  things,  and  hold  fast  that 
which  is  good ' !  May  the  proud  read  it,  and  learn  to  be 
humble ;  the  worldly,  and  learn  to  *  lay  up  treasure  in 
heaven ; '  the  self-righteous,  and  learn  to  '  count  all  things 
but  loss  for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ ; '  the 
ignorant,  and  become  *  wise  unto  salvation  ' !  May  parents 
and  children,  rulers  and  subjects,  masters  and  servants,  read 
it,  and  learn  the  duties  of  their  respective  stations  !  May 
the  afflicted  read  it,  and  learn  where  true  comfort  can  be 
found ;  the  miserable,  and  learn  how  to  be  happy,  both  here 
and  hereafter  !  May  the  anxious  and  inquiring  read  it,  and 
find  it  to  be  a  light  unto  their  feet  and  a  lamp  unto  their 
path  !  May  sinners  of  all  descriptions  read  it,  and  by  faith 
'  behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world  ; '  may  they  read  it,  and  '  have  right  to  the  tree  of  life, 
and  enter  in  through  the  gates  into  the  city  ' ! " 


112          FORTY   YEARS  IN    THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  following  year  Mr.  Goodell  received  instructions 
from  the  Prudential  Committee  of  the  Board  to  repair 
to  Constantinople,  and  commence  a  new  mission  at  that  place. 
The  letter  of  instructions  reached  him  on  the  26th  of  April, 
1831.  The  next  day  he  began  to  make  preparations  for 
removal,  and  on  the  21st  of  May  he  left  Malta  with  his 
family  in  the  ship  "  Banian,"  Captain  Smith,  for  the  Turkish 
capital.  The  special  object  of  his  mission  was  to  reach  the 
Armenian  population  of  the  city, —  an  intelligent,  enterprising, 
and  wealthy  part  of  the  people,  who  might  be  expected  to 
exert  a  powerful  influence  for  good  throughout  the  Turkish 
empire,  when  once  they  should  embrace  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus.  For  this  service  Mr.  Goodell  was  specially  qualified 
by  his  previous  study,  labors,  and  experience. 

He  reached  Constantinople  on  the  9th  of  June.  His 
description  of  Stamboul  and  its  suburbs,  as  seen  on  his 
approach,  is  not  excelled  in  graphic  force  and  beauty  by  any 
of  the  numerous  pictures  that  have  been  drawn  of  the 
grandeur  of  this  magnificent  Oriental  scene :  — 

'•'•June  9.  We  all  rose  at  an  early  hour  to  see  Constanti 
nople.  The  storm  had  passed  away,  the  stars  were  fading 
out  of  their  places,  the  winds  breathed  soft,  and  the  morning 
had  all  the  freshness  and  coolness  of  one  at  this  season  of 
the  year  in  New  England  after  a  refreshing  shower.  The 
view  of  Constantinople  was  at  first  indistinct,  and  presented 
nothing  striking.  We  began  to  call  in  question  the  correct 
ness  of  the  opinions  expressed  by  writers,  of  the  unrivalled 
beauty  of  its  situation  and  of  the  scenery  around.  But  as 
we  approached  the  city  the  prospect  became  enchanting. 


FIRST   VIEW   OP    CONSTANTINOPLE.  113 

On  our  left  were  fields  rich  in  cultivation  and  fruitfulness. 
On  our  right  were  the  little  isles  of  the  sea,  and  beyond  the 
high  lands  of  Broosa,  with  Olympus  rearing  its  head  above 
the  clouds  and  covered  with  eternal  snow.  In  the  city, 
mosques,  domes,  and  hundreds  of  lofty  minarets  were  starting 
up  amidst  the  more  humble  abodes  of  men,  all  embosomed 
in  groves  of  dark  cypress,  which,  in  some  instances,  seemed 
almost  like  dense  forests  ;  while  before,  behind,  and  around 
us  were,  besides  many  boats  of  the  country,  more  than  twenty 
square-rigged  vessels,  bearing  the  flags  of  different  nations, 
under  full  sail,  with  a  light  but  favorable  breeze,  all  converg 
ing  to  one  point,  and  that  point  Constantinople. 

"  When  we  first  caught  a  glimpse  of  Top-liana,  Galata, 
and  Pera,  stretching  from  the  water's  edge  to  the  summit  of 
the  hills,  and  as  we  began  to  sweep  around  Seraglio  Point, 
the  view  became  most  beautiful  and  sublime.  It  greatly 
surpassed  all  that  I  had  ever  conceived  of  it.  We  had  been 
sailing  along  what  I  should  call  the  south  side  of  the  city  for 
four  or  five  miles,  and  were  now  entering  the  Bosphorus, 
with  the  city  on  our  left  and  Scutari  on  our  right.  The 
mosques  of  St.  Sophia  and  Sultan  Achmet,  with  the  palaces 
and  gardens  of  the  present  Sultan  Mahmoud,  were  before  us 
in  all  their  majesty  and  loveliness.  The  latticed  windows  of 
the  women's  apartments,  the  gilt  doors,  with  the  titles  of  the 
grand  seignior  inscribed  over  the  massive  gates  in  letters  of 
gold,  were  coming  into  sight  like  enchantment.  Numberless 
boats  were  shooting  rapidly  by  in  all  directions,  giving  to  the 
scene  the  appearance  of  life,  activity,  pleasure,  and  business. 
The  vessels  before  us  had  been  retarded  and  those  behind 
had  been  speeded,  and  we  were  sweeping  around  the  Golden 
Horn  in  almost  as  rapid  succession  as  was  possible,  every 
captain  apparently  using  all  his  skill  to  prevent  collision  with 
his  neighbor,  or  being  carried  away  by  the  current ;  and 
every  passenger,  like  ourselves,  apparently  gazing  with 
admiration  on  the  numerous  objects  of  wonder  on  every 
hand.  Around  us  in  the  harbor,  among  the  boats  and  ves 
sels,  were  porpoises  tumbling,  and  sea-fowls,  exceedingly 
tame,  flying,  hovering,  swimming,  and  catching  whatever 
eatable  might  be  thrown  overboard.  The  Turks  never 
molest  them,  and  they  have  in  a  great  measure  laid  aside 
their  natural  fear  of  man." 

Mr.  Goodell  was  soon  at  home  in  his  own  hired  house  at 

H 


114  FORTY   YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

Pera,  one  of  the  suburbs  of  Constantinople.  It  will  seem 
strange  at  this  day,  when  so  many  Americans  annually  visit 
the  Turkish  capital,  and  when  not  a  few  are  residents,  that 
after  his  arrival  he  wrote  to  a  friend  in  this  country :  "  My 
family  is  said  to  be  the  first  that  has  ever  visited  this  place ; 
and  Mrs.  Goodell,  Mrs.  Smith,  wife  of  our  captain,  and  Miss 
Reynolds,  who  came  with  us  from  Smyrna,  the  first  Ameri 
can  ladies  ever  seen  here." 

Mr.  Goodell,  on  reaching  Constantinople,  took  a  house  at 
Pera,  directly  across  the  Golden  Horn,  the  suburb  chiefly 
occupied  by  the  Franks.  He  had  just  begun  to  look  about 
him  and  to  lay  his  plans  for  commencing  systematic  labor, 
when  his  work  was  suddenly  arrested  by  one  of  those  terrible 
conflagrations  to  which  the  city  of  the  sultans  has  been 
peculiarly  liable.  Of  this  disastrous  fire,  by  which  he  lost 
nearly  every  thing  of  an  earthly  nature  that  he  or  his 
family  possessed,  we  find  in  his  journal  the  following 
graphic  account:  — 

"  BuYUK-Dfcnfc,  Aug.  12,  1831. 

"  About  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  2d  inst.,  when 
the  alarm  of  fire  was  first  given,  I  saw  the  smoke  ascend 
ing,  and  immediately  repaired  to  the  spot.  It  was  about 
a  mile  from  my  house,  and  nearly  in  the  direction  of  the 
Frank  bury  ing-ground.  As  I  approached,  the  scene  became 
more  terrific,  —  men  and  boys  running ;  children  crying ; 
women  screaming,  or  beating  their  bosoms,  and  nearly  faint 
ing  ;  some  carrying  their  babes  or  infirm  relatives  ;  others 
dragging  a  part  of  their  clothes  and  furniture ;  some  mak 
ing  a  feeble  effort  to  check  the  progress  of  the  fire ;  and 
a  multitude  of  others,  who  felt  themselves  secure,  looking 
on  as  mere  idle  spectators.  I  was  not  at  all  aware  of  the 
danger  which  those  around  me  seemed  to  apprehend,  and 
did  what  I  could  to  calm  their  fears  and  inspire  confidence. 
For  near  two  hours  I  labored  in  a  large  garden,  assisting 
some  Armenian  women  to  extinguish  the  fire,  with  which 
their  beds  and  clothes  were  still  smoking.  In  the  mean 
time,  the  wind  very  considerably  freshened,  and  the  fire, 
which  it  appeared  to  me  might  easily  have  been  suppressed 
at  first,  began  to  spread  rapidly,  and  to  defy  all  attempts 


THE   GREAT  FIRE.  115 

to  arrest  its  progress.  Fire-engines  had  arrived,  and  were 
arriving,  but  the  element,  like  a  wild  beast  that  had  es 
caped  from  the  hand  of  its  keeper,  was  raging  too  violently, 
and  had  acquired  too  much  power,  to  be  subdued. 

"  I  must,  I  think,  have  made  a  mistake  as  to  the  real 
situation  of  my  house,  or  as  to  the  real  direction  the  fire 
was  taking,  for  I  had  not  the  least  idea  that  my  own 
neighborhood  would  be  disturbed.  The  owner  of  my  house, 
also,  whom  I  met  in  the  vicinity  of  the  fire,  had  the  same 
views  in  regard  to  the  part  of  the  town  likely  to  be  affected. 
I  concluded,  however,  to  go  home  and  rest,  and  after  a 
vhile  return  again  to  afford  any  assistance  in  my  power. 
On  the  way  I  met  Mr.  Lazarides,  who  has  the  charge  of 
the  Depot  of  Scriptures  at  Galata,  and  who  had  also  the  super 
intendence  of  a  school  at  Pera  on  the  Lancasterian  system, 
which  he  had  been  encouraged  to  establish  by  Messrs. 
Brewer,  Barker,  and  others  at  Smyrna.  He,  with  many 
others,  was  wringing  his  hands  and  weeping,  and  anxiously 
asked  what  he  should  do.  I  assured  him  that  I  fully 
believed  he  was  in  no  danger;  but,  if  he  thought  other 
wise,  he  had  better  send  the  slates,  books,  &c.,  of  the 
school,  and  whatever  else  he  pleased,  to  my  house,  where 
they  would  certainly  be  safe.  I  went  with  him  to  the 
school,  and  with  several  porters  we  took  every  thing 
except  the  seats,  also  much  of  his  own  private  property,  and 
all  his  brothers',  and  started  for  my  house.  It  was  now 
almost  impossible  to  pass,  on  account  of  the  crowd  of  men, 
women,  and  children ;  some  carrying  off  their  little  ones 
or  their  goods  to  a  place  of  safety,  others  returning  for 
a  fresh  load;  while  a  company  of  firemen,  hastening  with 
their  engines  towards  the  fire,  would  now  and  then  break 
their  way  through,  to  the  no  small  danger  of  the  limbs 
and  lives  of  those  with  whom  they  came  in  contact.  Some 
appeared  to  be  in  danger  of  suffocation,  and  some,  with 
loads  on  their  backs,  were  thrown  down,  and  literally 
passed  over. 

"  On  reaching  home,  I  found  the  house  nearly  filled 
with  the  goods  of  some  of  our  neighbors,  and  my  family 
somewhat  alarmed,  and  already  engaged  in  closing  the 
iron  shutters.  The  fire  now  for  the  first  time  appeared 
to  me  to  be  spreading  towards  the  part  of  the  town  in 
which  I  lived.  Mr.  Cunningham,  who  lived  in  a  stone 
house  near  by,  came  in,  and  assured  me  that  such  houses 


116  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

as  his  and  mine  were  always  known  to  resist  the  effects 
of  fire,  and  advised  me  to  let  every  thing  ~emain  in  the 
house,  as  he  should  in  his.  I  had  all  the  shutters  well 
fastened,  the  windows  removed,  water  carried  up  to  all 
the  rooms  and  upon  the  roof,  and  every  thing  done  which 
I  was  able  to  do.  The  owner  of  the  house,  a  rich  Arme 
nian,  also  came  in,  and  flew  about,  and  seemed  to  exercise 
authority,  like  the  '  angel  who  had  power  over  fire,'  and  I 
felt  that  we  were  safe.  Mrs.  Goodell  was  in  the  mean  time 
engaged  in  arranging  our  things,  and  putting  up  as  many 
of  them  as  possible  in  trunks  and  baskets. 

"  Every  house  was  like  touch-wood,  and  the  wind  andi 
flames  increased,  and  rolled  on  towards  us  like  waves  of 
liquid  fire.  The  iron  shutters  of  my  house  soon  became 
red  hot ;  the  rooms  were  like  a  heated  oven ;  but  we  made 
plentiful  use  of  water,  and  were  able  for  a  considerable 
time  to  extinguish  the  fire,  wherever  it  caught. 

"About  this  time  Mr.  Churchhill  came  in,  and  insisted 
that  Mrs.  Goodell  and  the  children  should  immediately  go 
to  his  house,  quite  in  the  lower  part  of  Pera,  towards 
Galata,  and  there  remain  till  we  should  come,  as  he  was 
sure  my  house  could  not  stand  long.  They  left  in  com 
pany  with  Messrs.  Offley  and  Roboli,  clerks  in  Mr.  Church- 
hill's  counting-house.  Soon  after,  Mr.  Cunningham  came 
to  tell  me  that  his  house,  with  every  thing  in  it,  was 
gone,  and  that  mine  could  not  resist  much  longer.  Every 
house  back  of  mine  was  in  ashes,  or  nearly  so ;  every  house 
on  the  left  hand  was  all  on  fire,  and  the  house  next  to  mine 
on  the  right  had  just  caught.  In  front,  and  separated 
from  me  by  a  narrow  street,  was  the  large  garden  of 
the  English  palace,  surrounded  by  a  very  high  wall.  As 
sisted  by  Mr.  Churchhill  and  Panayotes,  a  friendly  Greek, 
who  came  over  from  Constantinople  and  stayed  by  me  during 
all  that  day,  and  several  of  the  succeeding  ones,  we  threw 
from  the  projections  or  balconies  of  our  chambers  into 
this  garden  whatever  came  to  hand,  till  my  strength  was 
exhausted,  and  Mr.  Churchhill  declared  that  we  could 
not  remain  in  the  house  another  minute  in  safety.  The 
fire  had  passed  through  the  adjoining  house  to  the  very 
front,  and  was  sweeping  the  front  part  of  mine,  which 
was  not  defended  by  iron  shutters.  He  started,  and 
bade  me  follow.  I  called  to  my  servant  Giovanni,  and 
then  passed  through  a  shower  of  tiles,  windows,  and  fire- 


PROGRESS    OF   THE   FLAMES.  117 

brands,  that  were  falling  into  the  street  from  the  adjoin 
ing  house.  My  hat  caught  fire,  but,  praised  be  God,  I 
passed  unhurt.  The  servant,  who  was  not  a  quarter  of  a 
minute  behind,  was  not  able  to  follow,  and  had  to  return 
into  the  house,  and  was  somehow  saved  by  the  firemen 
through  the  ashes  and  fire  at  the  back  part  of  the  house. 

"  We  hastened  to  the  garden,  and  towards  the  spot 
where  we  had  thrown  so  many  things,  and  where  I  ex 
pected  to  find  them  all  secure.  We  found  it  impossible 
to  make  a  near  approach ;  the  fire  had  passed  the  garden 
wall ;  not  a  single  article  of  all  we  had  thrown  from 
the  windows  could  be  seen ;  and  the  whole  front  part  of 
my  house  was  wrapt  in  one  entire  sheet  of  blaze.  We 
afterwards  found  in  another  part  of  the  garden  a  very 
few  of  our  things,  some  of  them  broken,  and  others  partly 
burnt,  which  had  been  rescued  from  the  fire  by  the  exer 
tions  of  Messrs.  Offley  and  Roboli  and  other  friends  ;  but 
almost  all  of  them  were  consumed  before  they  could  be 
taken  from  the  spot  where  they  were  thrown.  With 
1  the  spoiling  of  our  goods '  we  removed  from  place  to  place 
in  the  garden,  till  the  palace  itself  took  fire,  and  no  place 
of  safety  could  any  longer  be  found  there.  We  then  pro 
ceeded  to  Mr.  ChurchhiU's,  a  large  and  very  strong  stone 
house.  The  fire  followed  us,  and  in  about  an  hour  the 
fire  was  at  the  next  door.  We  hastened  to  Top-Hana, 
and,  hungry,  thirsty,  and  fatigued,  we  came  the  same  night 
in  a  boat  to  this  place,  a  distance  of  about  eighteen  miles. 
Mr.  Churchhill  had  a  house  here,  which  his  family  were 
already  occupying.  We  were  '  strangers,  and  they  took 
us  in,'  and  very  hospitably  entertained  us,  till  we  could 
look  round  and  find  a  dwelling,  and  purchase  a  few  things 
necessary  for  commencing  housekeeping.  We  found  ourselves 
at  once  destitute  of  almost  every  comfort,  and  had,  as  it 
were,  to  begin  the  world  anew.  Not  a  single  cup  nor  a  single 
utensil  remained.  Two  single  beds,  partly  burnt,  three 
sheets  and  two  coverlets,  partly  burnt,  and  one  pillow,  con 
stituted  the  whole  of  our  conveniences  for  the  night. 

"  Panayotes,  the  Greek  above  mentioned,  threw  many 
of  my  books  from  the  window,  a  part  of  which  were  pre 
served  ;  but  all  my  Grammars  and  Dictionaries  in  the  Eng 
lish,  French,  Italian,  Arabic,  Hebrew,  Greek,  Armenian, 
and  Turkish  languages ;  all  my  Geographies,  Gazetteers, 
Histories  (excepting  two  odd  volumes  of  Mosheim),  Com- 


118          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

mentaries  on  the  Bible,  manuscripts,  translations,  &c.,  with 
many  of  my  private  papers,  are  gone,  —  all  '  into  smoke 
have  they  consumed  away.'  I  had  visited  most  of  the 
places  here  which  are  objects  of  curiosity  to  a  stranger, 
and  had  taken  copious  notes  of  what  I  had  seen  and  heard ; 
but  not  a  trace  of  them  is  now  to  be  found.  We  had  pro 
vided  at  Malta  a  good  supply  of  clothing  for  ourselves  and 
children,  but  of  many  articles  we  are  entirely  deprived, 
and  of  others  to  a  great  degree.  I  have  not  a  single 
shirt  to  put  on.  We  had  a  pretty  large  stock  of  medicines, 
but  not  one  article  was  saved.  We  had  many  little  com 
forts  which  are  considered  indispensable  in  case  of  sick 
ness,  but  not  a  single  one  is  left  ;  nor  can  many  of  them 
be  obtained  here  now  at  any  price.  Keys  we  have  in  full 
complement,  but  scarcely  any  thing  to  unlock. 

**  The  little  girls  thought  it  very  hard  that  the  fire  paid  no 
respect  to  their  toys  or  their  books.  Their  '  Little  Philoso 
pher  '  books  and  all  the  rest  are  gone.  The  second  day 
after  our  arrival  at  this  place  there  was  an  alarm  of  fire 
where  we  are  staying,  and  they  began  to  cry,  and  said  they 
would  go  back  to  Malta.  The  trunk  that  I  carried  so  far 
on  my  back  when  I  left  home  to  enter  Phillips  Academy, 
and  which  I  intended  to  bequeath  to  my  children  for  their 
inheritance,  is  also  gone. 

"  But,  though  cast  down,  we  are  not  destroyed.  We  have 
Deen  afflicted,  but  not  given  over  unto  death.  And  one  reason 
why  I  have  dwelt  thus  particularly  on  our  own  circumstances 
is  that  you  may  form  some  idea  of  the  losses  and  circum 
stances  (and  in  some  instances  great  distresses)  of  from  seventy 
to  eighty  thousand  of  our  fellow-sufferers.  Of  all  that  part 
properly,  I  understand,  called  Pera,  only  eight  private  houses 
are  said  to  remain.  One  of  these  is  Mr.  Churchhill's.  Of 
all  the  palaces,  only  the  Austrian  and  Swedish  were  saved. 
Of  all  the  churches,  only  one  Greek  and  one  Latin  (with  the 
new  English  chapel  then  in  building)  escaped  the  general 
conflagration.  The  people  in  crowds  made  the  best  of  their 
way  to  the  burying-grounds  with  whatever  they  could  take 
with  them  ;  and  for  several  dajS  and  nights  from  ten  to 
twenty  thousand  persons  might  be  seen  there,  many  of  them 
with  scarcely  any  other  covering  than  the  canopy  of  heaven, 
or  any  other  bed  than  the  graves  they  slept  upon.  Multi 
tudes  of  men,  women,  and  children  might  be  seen  lying 
against  a  grave-stone,  to  defend  their  head  from  wind  and 
cold  during  repose. 


DESTRUCTION    OF   LIFE.  119 

"  In  such  times  of  calamity  it  is  not  in  these  countries  as 
it  is  in  America,  where  the  sufferers  meet  everywhere  with 
sympathy  and  assistance.  Many  persons  here  will,  indeed, 
*  take  you  in,'  but  it  is  generally  in  the  wrong  sense.  Almost 
every  one  with  whom  you  have  to  do  hopes  and  endeavors  to 
profit  by  your  losses.  Are  you  very  anxious  to  have  any 
particular  article  saved  ?  Perhaps  riot  a  porter  will  lift  his 
linger  to  save  it  without  an  extravagant  compensation,  de 
manding  in  some  instances  nearly  or  quite  as  much  as  the 
article  originally  cost.  And  if  for  a  moment  you  lose  sight 
of  him,  he  will  perhaps  take  the  road  to  his  own  house,  or 
will  turn  aside  into  some  lane,  and  carry  off  your  treasure. 
One  of  my  trunks  I  found,  a  week  after  the  fire,  at  Ters- 
Hana,  more  than  a  mile  from  my  house ;  another  I  found 
more  than  a  mile  in  another  direction.  The  former  was 
broken  open,  and  all,  except  two,  of  the  silver  spoons  which 
our  dear  friends  in  America  had  given  us  were  gone. 

"  But  my  heart  sickens  and  my  eyes  fill  as  I  think  of  the 
wickedness,  the  sufferings,  and  the  horrors  of  that  day ! 
More  than  one  hundred  persons  are  reported  to  have  per 
ished  by  fire  and  falling  walls.  Nine  men  were  buried  in 
the  ruins  nearly  opposite  Mr.  ChurclihilFs  house,  and  an 
entire  week  elapsed  before  they  could  all  be  dug  out. 
Others  were  cut  off  from  doors  and  streets  by  surrounding 
flames,  and,  with  millions  of  cats  and  other  quadrupeds,  were 
burnt  alive.  The  space  of  ground  burnt  over  is  about  two 
miles  long,  and  in  some  instances  a  mile  broad,  making,  as 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Walsh  thinks,  rather  more  than  a  mile  square. 
The  destruction  of  property  was  greater  and  the  fire  more 
irresistible  than  has  ever  been  known  here  before,  and 
reminded  one  of  the  fires  of  the  last  day.  It  seemed,  indeed, 
like  *  the  great  and  terrible  day  of  the  Lord,'  when  '  the 
heavens,  being  on  fire,  shall  be  dissolved,  and  the  elements 
shall  melt  with  fervent  heat,  the  earth  also,  and  the  works 
that  are  therein,  shall  be  burnt  up.'  The  Lord  grant  that 
we  may  all l  find  mercy  of  the  Lord  in  that  day/  and  may 
our  treasure  be  laid  up  where  the  last  fire  cannot  reach." 

The  losses  which  he  sustained  in  this  great  fire  were  in  a 
measure  made  up  by  the  generous  aid  of  friends  in  the  East 
and  in  the  United  States.  When  the  news  of  the  disaster 
reached  Smyrna,  several  American  merchants,  shipmasters, 
and  residents  sent  nearly  three  thousand  piastres  (about  two 


120  FORTY  YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

hundred  and  forty  dollars)  to  Mr.  Goodell,  together  with  a 
box  of  clothing,  which  it  was  impossible  to  obtain  at  Con 
stantinople,  excepting  at  extravagant  prices.  Among  the 
many  pleasing  expressions  of  remembrance  and  sympathy 
which  he  received  from  his  native  land,  and  one  doubly  val 
uable  at  a  time  when  nearly  every  memento  of  home  was 
"  consumed  away  into  smoke,"  was  a  box  from  a  society  of 
ladies  in  his  native  town,  with  the  familiar  names  of  the 
respective  donors  written  on  the  several  articles. 

Driven  from  Pera  by  the  conflagration,  he  was  obliged  to 
seek  quarters  in  one  of  the  more  distant  suburbs  of  Constan 
tinople.  He  found  a  temporary  home  at  Buyuk-Dere  on 
the  Bosphorus,  about  fifteen  miles  from  the  city,  and  four  or 
five  from  the  Black  Sea. 

"August  6.  We  are  now  occupying  a  part  of  a  house 
belonging  to  two  Greek  princesses,  whose  father  was  be 
headed  at  the  commencement  of  the  Greek  revolution. 
Besides  ourselves  and  these  princesses  there  are  several 
other  families  and  individuals  in  the  house.  Indeed,  we 
form  a  community  by  ourselves,  of  *  many  nations,  kindreds, 
and  tongues,'  being  from  ten  different  nations,  belonging  to 
eight  different  religious  communions,  and  understanding  six 
teen  different  languages.  May  we  all  dwell  together  in  that 
*  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal,  in  the  heavens  ' !  In 
every  place  where  we  have  sojourned;  in  every  island  or 
country  we  have  visited ;  in  every  road  we  have  travelled, 
or  ship  in  which  we  have  sailed ;  in  every  house  we  have 
rented,  and  every  room  we  have  occupied,  —  how  many 
things  have  the  eyes  of  infinite  Purity  seen  amiss  in  us  ! 
How  many  mercies  have  we,  in  all  places  and  at  all  times, 
received !  and  how  few  and  how  poor  returns  have  we,  in 
any  place  or  at  any  time,  made  !  And  the  fire  which  burns 
up  all  things  else  does  not  consume  our  sins,  nor  destroy 
the  remembrance  of  them.  May  they  all  be  washed  away 
in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  that  precious  blood  which  cleanseth 
from  all  sin ! " 

Among  the  occupants  of  this  house  were  three  American 
gentlemen,  —  Dr.  James  E.  De  Kay,  of  New  York,  who  had 
been  sent  from  the  United  States  as  a  medical  commissioner, 


AMERICANS    AT    CONSTANTINOPLE.  121 

to  study  the  new  and  mysterious  disease,  the  Asiatic  cholera, 
that  was  then  sweeping  over  the  continent  of  Europe,  and 
which  made  its  appearance  on  the  American  shores  the  fol 
lowing  summer ;  Mr.  Henry  Eckford,  also  of  New  York 
who  was  employed  by  the  Turkish  government  to  superin 
tend  the  construction  of  its  navy  ;  and  Mr.  Charles  Rhind,  — 
all  of  whom  became  for  a  season  members  of  the  family  of 
the  missionary.  This  association  was  the  source  of  mutual 
pleasure,  the  guests  sharing  in  the  privileges  of  an  American 
Christian  home,  and  by  their  society  and  kind  attentions 
contributing  to  the  enjoyments  of  the  household.  The 
arrival  of  another  American,  with  whom  Mr.  Goodell  had 
for  many  years  the  most  agieeable  intercourse,  and  from 
whom  he  received  substantial  aid  and  encouragement,  is 
mentioned  in  tlie  accompanying  extract  from  his  journal :  — 

"August  21.  Preached  at  Commodore  Porter's.  He  has 
just  arrived  as  Charge  daffaires,  and  has  kindly  opened 
his  doors  for  public  worship  on  the  Sabbath.  All  the  Ameri 
can  travellers  and  visitors  who  happened  to  be  in  the  village 
attended,  among  whom  were  a  Jew,  a  Quaker,  an  Episcopa 
lian,  Socinians,  and  Congregationalists.  The  subject  of  the 
discourse  was  Searching  the  Scriptures.  Whatever  office!* 
we  or  our  countrymen  may  fill ;  where  or  for  whatever  pur 
pose  we  may  travel  by  land  or  by  sea,  in  all  places  and 
among  all  people ;  of  whatever  languages,  religions,  or  cus 
toms, —  may  we  feel  and  say,  l  Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my 
feet  and  a  light  unto  my  path,'  and  may  our  conduct  ever  be 
in  accordance  with  such  a  sentiment." 

Of  one  of  these  services  an  American  traveller  who  was 
present  wrote  at  the  time  :  — 

"  Our  worthy  friend,  Mr.  Goodell,  celebrated  divine  wor 
ship  at  home,  arid  such  of  the  inmates  of  the  palace  as  felt 
disposed  attended  the  service.  As  many  did  not  understand 
English,  Mr.  Goodell  delivered  an  impressive  discourse  in 
Italian.  It  is  certainly  not  among  the  least  of  the  novelties 
of  our  situation  to  hear  a  Yankee  clergyman  preaching  in 
Italian  on  the  banks  of  the  Bosphorus  to  an  audience  com 
posed  of  half  a  dozen  different  nations,  assembled  from 
6 


122    FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE. 

various  quarters  of  the  globe."  —  Sketches  of  Turkey,  by  Dr. 
De  Kay. 

Mr.  GoodelPs  journal  continues :  — 

"Saturday,  August  27.  The  plague  increases  in  the  vil 
lage.  This  morning  an  Italian  physician  died  of  it  a  few 
doors  from  us.  There  is  much  consternation.  We  estab 
lished  quarantine  regulations,  as  most  others  around  us  had 
done  previously. 

"  Tuesday,  August  30.  In  the  midst  of  cholera,  plague, 
and  conflagration  the  Lord  has  hitherto  been  our  preserver. 
Other  families  around  us  have  been  '  minished  and  brought 
low,'  but  ours  has  in  great  mercy  been  built  up,  and  has  this 
day  been  increased  by  a  son,  —  an  event,  however,  in  no 
way  deserving  special  notice,  except  that  he  is  the  first 
American  child  born  in  Constantinople  or  its  suburbs.  May 
he  be  born  again,  and  seek  '  a  better  country,  even  an  heav 
enly.'" 

On  the  same  day  Mr.  Goodell  received  from  Commodore 
Porter  the  following  note  :  — 

AMERICAN  HOUSE, 
Tuesday  afternoon,  Aug.  30,  1831. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  congratulate  you  and  Mrs.  Goodell 
on  the  accession  to  your  family,  and  hope  the  boy  may  long 
live  to  be  a  blessing  to  you. 

I  had  been  endeavoring  to  get  a  room  fitted  up  for  his  ac 
commodation,  in  expectation  of  the  event,  but  did  not  succeed 
in  time.  It  shall  be  ready,  however,  by  the  time  Mrs. 
Goodell  will  be  able  to  move,  and  then,  as  I  shall  be  alone, 
I  beg  you  to  come  and  take  up  your  residence  with  me  as 
long  as  it  may  suit  your  convenience. 

With  the  best  wishes  to  you,  Mrs.  Goodell,  and  all  the 
little  ones.  Yours  truly, 

DAVID  PORTER. 

The  spirit  in  which  this  graceful  hospitality  was  accepted 
is  expressed  in  the  following  extract  from  the  journal  of  Mr. 
Goodell:  — 

"  October  19,  1831.  Accepted  of  the  kind  and  pressing 
invitation  of  the  American  Charge  d'affaires,  Commodore 
Porter,  to  spend  the  winter  with  him,  and  removed  to  his 


COMMODORE  PORTER.  123 

house.  He  has  assigned  us  four  rooms,  two  of  which  he  has 
entirely  fitted  up  for  us  at  his  own  expense.  All  the  return 
we  have  it  in  our  power  to  make  him  for  this  kindness  is  to 
pray  that  we  may  be  to  him  what  the  Ark  was  to  Obed- 
edom,  —  a  blessing  to  his  house.  May  He  who  made  Joseph 
useful  in  Egypt,  Nehemiah  in  the  court  of  Persia,  and  Daniel 
in  Shushan  the  Palace,  make  us  useful  in  our  present  resi 
dence;  and  'in  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity,  not  with 
fleshly  wisdom,  but  by  the  grace  of  God,  may  we  have  our 
conversation  in  the  world.' " 

This  was  the  commencement  of  an  intimacy  that  continued 
with  little  interruption  until  the  death  of  Commodore  Porter, 
in  1843,  while  he  was  yet  representing  the  government  of 
the  United  States  at  the  Sublime  Porte.  The  American 
ambassador  for  many  years  took  the  liveliest  interest  in  the 
work  of  the  missionary,  giving  him  his  protection  and  the 
warmest  personal  friendship  ;  accompanying  him  on  his  mis 
sionary  tours,  and  affording  him  material  aid  in  carrying  out 
his  plans  for  the  welfare  of  the  people  to  whom  he  was  sent. 
Still  more  valuable  was  the  return  which  the  ambassador 
for  Christ  made  by  his  Christian  counsel  and  kindness  and 
fidelity  and  prayers,  which  never  ceased  to  encircle  the 
Commodore,  until  he  breathed  his  last  while  Mr.  Goodell 
was  kneeling  at  his  bedside  in  prayer. 

Sabbath,  September  25,  Mr.  Goodell  preached  as  usual  at 
the  house  of  the  American  Charge,  of  which  he  made  special 
record,  as  being  the  occasion  of  the  baptism  of  his  own  child, 
Constantine  Washington.  This  name  was  given  at  the  sug 
gestion  of  several  American  friends  then  at  the  Turkish 
capital,  on  account  of  his  being  the  first  American  child  born 
at  Constantinople.  Several  German,  Greek,  and  Papal- 
Armenian  friends  were  present  at  the  service. 

In  the  early  part  of  October,  Constantinople  and  the 
vicinity  were  visited  with  one  of  the  most  remarkable  hail 
storms  of  which  we  have  any  authentic  record,  the  hail 
falling  in  masses  of  ice.  Mr.  Goodell  describes  it  in  his 
journal :  — 


124          FORTY   YEARS  IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

"  October  5,  1831.  At  seven  o'clock  this  morning  occurred 
the  most  dreadful  hail-storm  that  I  ever  witnessed.  The 
roaring  of  the  storm  was  heard  for  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes 
before  it  reached  us,  and  was  at  the  time  supposed  to  be  the 
rumbling  of  distant  thunder.  As  it  approached,  our  atten 
tion  was  arrested  by  the  very  singular  appearance  of  the  Bos- 
phorus.  It  seemed  as  if  some  person  was,  at  intervals, 
throwing  brickbats  or  paving-stones  into  it  from  the  roofs  of 
the  houses.  Observing,  however,  the  same  appearance  at  a 
distance  from  the  shore,  I  concluded  for  a  moment  it  must 
be  large  fish  jumping  out  of  the  water.  But  immediately 
the  storm  rushed  on  with  awful  fury ;  the  stones  fell,  indeed, 
thick  as  hail ;  almost  every  pane  of  glass  that  was  exposed 
was  broken ;  the  tilings  of  the  houses  were  cut  to  pieces,  and 
the  water  came  down  in  streams  into  our  chambers ;  while 
the  whole  surface  of  the  Bosphorus  was  splashed  up  into  the 
air  in  a  manner  it  is  impossible  to  describe.  Our  rooms 
were  covered  with  glass,  hailstones,  and  water.  Several 
persons  received  severe  contusions  on  their  limbs,  geese 
were  killed,  and  the  poor  dogs  ran  in  every  direction  in  the 
streets  yelping,  and  wondering  who  could  be  pelting  them  so 
unmercifully  with  stones.  Some  of  the  hailstones  weighed 
130  drachms,  and  some  are  reported  to  have  weighed  150 
drachms.  We  ourselves  measured  two  of  the  hailstones,  that 
were  five  and  six  inches  in  circumference ;  and  one  of  our 
neighbors,  an  apothecary,  measured  one,  of  which  Dr.  Walsh 
took  a  drawing,  that  was  fourteen  inches  in  circumference.* 

*  This  statement  of  the  size  of  the  hailstones,  with  their  weight, 
a  pound  and  a  half,  may  appear  incredible,  but  much  larger  masses 
of  ice  are  recorded  as  having  fallen.  "  On  the  4th  June,  1814,  hail 
from  thirteen  to  fifteen  inches  diameter  fell  in  Ohio.  In  Orkney 
Islands,  on  the  24th  July,  1818,  during  thunder,  a  very  remarkable 
shower  of  hail  took  place.  The  stones  were  as  large  as  a  goose's  egg, 
and  mixed  with  large  masses  of  ice.  In  June,  1885,  hail  fully  three 
inches  in  circumference  fell  near  Edinburgh,  from  a  dense  cloud  dur 
ing  a  thunder-storm.  On  the  Stir  May,  1832,  an  immense  mass  of 
aggregated  hailstones  fell  in  Hungary,  measuring  about  a  yard  in 
length,  and  nearly  two  feet  in  depth.  A  hailstone,  described  by  Cap 
tain  Delcrosseas  having  fallen  at  Baconnierein  July,  1819,  was  fifteen 
inches  in  circumference,  and  had  a  beautifully  radiated  structure, 
showing  it  to  be  a  single  hailstone."  —  Bachtm't  Meteorology,  Edi.n- 
bwyh,  18G7. 


GREAT   HAIL-STORM.  125 

The  storm  lasted  near  half  an  hour,  though  not  the  whole 
time  with  such  fury ;  and  the  oldest  residents  and  the  great 
est  travellers  amongst  us  say  they  never  saw  the  like  before. 
"  October  8.  Yesterday  and  to-day  have  been  cold,  stormy, 
uncomfortable  days,  and  the  rain  still  continues.  The  tiling 
of  our  house  was  so  much  injured  by  the  hail-storm,  and  the 
windows  so  broken,  that  our  rooms  are  scarcely  in  a  habit 
able  state.  The  water  comes  down  or  through  in  almost  all 
parts  of  them,  and  we  have  to  huddle  together  like  sheep 
from  corner  to  corner  to  get  a  dry  place,  and  we  can  hardly 
find  a  spot  to  lay  our  heads  at  night.  The  judgments  of 
God  have  certainly  been  various  and  very  terrible  in  this 
country.  '  He  gave  them  hail  for  rain,  and  naming  fire  in 
their  land.' " 


126  FORTY  YEARS   IN  THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  city  of  Constantinople,  at  the  time  of  Mr.  GoodelPs 
arrival,  contained,  including  the  suburbs,  a  population 
of  about  1,000,000,  of  various  nationalities  and  religions. 
The  Turks  and  other  Mohammedans  comprised  more  than 
half ;  the  Greeks  and  Armenians  each  numbered  about 
150,000,  the  former  being  the  more  numerous ;  there  were 
about  50,000  Jews  ;  the  remainder  was  made  up  of  Franks  and 
people  from  almost  every  part  of  the  world.  These  several 
classes  formed  distinct  communities,  which  for  the  most  part 
occupied  different  quarters  of  the  city,  or  different  suburbs, 
—  the  Turks  having  almost  exclusive  possession  of  the  city 
proper ;  the  Greeks,  Armenians,  Jews,  &c.,  occupying  Galata, 
Pera,  Hasskeuy,  and  other  adjacent  villages.  They  were 
all  living,  as  now,  under  an  anomalous  form  of  government, 
the  Sublime  Porte,  as  the  Sultan's  government  is  called, 
being  supreme,  while  each  separate  nation  had  its  own  head, 
with  a  regularly  organized  system  of  government,  subject 
only  to  the  Sultan.  Of  this  peculiar  political  constitution 
of  things  we  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  more  at  large  in  a 
subsequent  chapter. 

When  Mr.  Goodell  went  to  Constantinople,  his  mission  was 
to  the  Armenians,  who  were  descendants  of  the  ancient  in 
habitants  of  Armenia.  The  nation  embraced  Christianity 
about  the  commencement  of  the  fourth  century ;  but,  like  all 
the  Oriental  churches,  the  Armenian  had  become  exceed 
ingly  corrupt.  It  was  almost  wholly  given  up  to  super 
stition  and  to  idolatrous  worship  of  saints,  including  the 
Virgin  Mary,  pictures,  &c.  The  Armenians  hold  to  transub- 


POPULATION   OF    CONSTANTINOPLE.  127 

stantiation,  and  worship  the  host ;  and,  indeed,  have  adopted 
most  of  the  errors  of  popery.  Nearly  half  the  days  of  the 
year  are  fast-days.  Their  feast-days  are  regarded  as  more 
sacred  than  the  Lord's  day.  As  with  all  rigid  formalists, 
the  weightier  matters  of  the  law  and  of  the  gospel  are  con 
sidered  of  small  account  compared  with  the  punctilious  per 
formance  of  religious  rites  and  ceremonies.  They  have 
numerous  grades  of  the  clergy,  at  the  head  of  which  is  the  Ca- 
tholicos.  The  Patriarch  at  Constantinople  is  only  a  bishop, 
and  is  the  civil  head  of  the  Armenians  in  that  part  of  Turkey. 
The  priests  are  required  to  be  married  men,  but  no  priest 
can  be  married  a  second  time.  If  his  wife  dies,  he  may  be 
come  a  vartabed,  —  a  sort  of  preaching  monk,  —  of  whom 
many  are  attached  to  different  churches,  but  he  cannot  become 
a  bishop.  This  restriction  to  one  wife  for  a  lifetime  is  said  to 
make  the  priests  exceedingly  careful  of  their  wives,  and  far 
more  ready  than  lay  husbands  to  relieve  them  of  the  cares 
and  burdens  of  life.  A  traveller  speaks  of  seeing  a  priest  in 
the  interior  engaged  in  hanging  out  the  clothes  he  had 
washed,  who  gave  as  the  reason  that  his  wife  was  delicate, 
and  he  wished  to  preserve  her  as  long  as  he  could,  for  if  he 
lost  her  he  could  not  have  another.  The  bishops,  contrary 
to  Paul's  special  injunction,  are  not  allowed  to  marry  at  all. 

The  Armenians  were  an  enterprising  people,  and  the  great 
wealth  of  the  bankers,  who  were  nearly  all  Armenians,  made 
them  very  influential  throughout  the  empire,  even  with  the 
Turkish  officials,  who  were  largely  dependent  upon  them  for 
pecuniary  advances  and  assistance.  The  various  connections 
of  this  people  with  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  the  in 
fluence  which  they  were  in  a  position  to  exert,  in  promoting 
the  spread  of  the  Gospel  in  Turkey,  made  it  exceedingly  de 
sirable  that  they  should  embrace  the  truth ;  and  as  priests 
and  people  were  alike  in  the  grossest  spiritual  darkness,  and 
"had  need  that  one  should  teach  them  which  be  the  first 
principles  of  the  oracles  of  God,"  the  first  mission  to  Con 
stantinople  was  for  their  .special  benefit.  But  the  way  was 


128          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

providentially  hedged  up  for  a  time.  The  circumstances 
which  turned  the  attention  of  Mr.  Goodell  temporarily  to 
the  Greek  and  Turkish  population  are  detailed  in  the  follow 
ing  communication  to  the  Board :  — 

"  November  21,  1831.  You  may,  perhaps,  wonder  that  I 
have  done  so  much  for  the  Greeks  and  so  little  for  the  Ar 
menians.  The  reasons  are :  1,  That  in  the  various  plagues 
with  which  the  country  has  been  afflicted  I  have,  in  the 
providence  of  God,  been  brought  much  more  into  contact 
with  the  Greeks  than  with  the  Armenians ;  and,  2,  that  as 
regards  Lancasterian  schools,  I  had  absolutely  nothing  to  be 
gin  with  among  the  Armenians,  —  no  lessons,  no  suitable 
books,  no  master ;  nor  could  I  well  give  them  an  idea  of  the 
system  without  a  living  model,  such  a  model  as  these  Greek 
schools  do  actually  present.  In  an  interview  which  I  had 
with  the  Armenian  Patriarch,  soon  after  my  arrival  at  Con 
stantinople,  he  spoke  favorably  of  such  schools,  and  wished 
us  to  take  some  Armenian  priests  or  schoolmasters,  and  in 
struct  them  in  the  system.  Those  terrible  dispensations  of 
Heaven  which  soon  followed  interrupted  the  plans  we  were 
maturing  for  their  good,  and  for  a  season  cut  off,  in  a  great 
measure,  all  intercourse  with  them ;  indeed,  since  the  burning 
of  Pera,  and  the  consequent  dispersion  of  its  inhabitants,  I 
have  not  seen  one  of  the  Armenians  with  whom  I  had  pre 
viously  formed  an  acquaintance,  and  it  was  not  till  very 
recently  that  I  found  among  them  a  teacher  in  whom  I  felt 
sufficient  confidence  to  employ  him  and  appoint  over  this 
business." 

In  the  course  of  a  few  weeks  he  established  four  Greek 
Lancasterian  schools  at  the  capital  and  in  the  suburbs,  and 
these  after  a  few  months  were  largely  increased  in  number ; 
one  of  them,  almost  as  soon  as  it  was  opened,  had  more  than 
a  hundred  boys.  The  Russian  ambassador  became  warmly 
interested  in  the  enterprise,  and  assumed  the  expense  of  the 
tuition  of  a  number  of  boys,  after  providing  them  with  suit 
able  clothing  at  his  own  cost.  Commodore  Porter  also  stood 
ready  on  all  occasions  to  second  these  efforts  of  the  mission 
ary.  Great  wisdom  was  needed  in  the  management  of  the 
schools  and  in  the  instruction  of  t  the  pupils,  owing  to  the 


LANCASTERIAN   SCHOOLS.  129 

strong  prejudices  of  the  people.  The  Greeks  were  very 
jealous  of  evangelical  principles,  and  preferred  that  their 
children  should  be  taught  the  doctrines  and  trained  in  the 
ceremonies  of  the  church,  rather  than  that  their  minds  should 
be  developed  and  enlightened.  The  Armenians  were  still 
more  bigoted.  The  papal  priests,  on  learning  that  the  New 
Testament  was  used  in  the  Greek  schools,  endeavored  to 
excite  opposition ;  but  as  the  schools  were  not  intended  for 
their  people,  and  as  they  enjoyed  the  approbation  of  the 
Russian  ambassador,  and  of  others  connected  with  the  Greek 
Church,  they  were  unsuccessful  in  their  opposition. 

It  was  the  policy  of  Mr.  Goodell  to  induce  the  people  to 
establish  schools  for  themselves,  while  he  furnished  the  plans, 
and,  as  far  as  possible,  selected  suitable  teachers,  making  the 
people  responsible  for  their  maintenance  and  management. 
They  were  thus  saved  from  the  charge  of  being  under  foreign 
control.  Before  the  end  of  a  year  he  gave  the  following 
hopeful  account  of  his  educational  work :  — 

"  Of  the  importance  of  Lancasterian  schools  in  this  country, 
we  think  that  we  and  our  patrons  at  home  can  have  but  one 
opinion.  To  afford  them  encouragement  and  patronage,  and 
to  aid  in  extending  the  system  as  much  as  possible,  we  are 
confident,  should  occupy  a  large  portion  of  our  attention.' 
More  than  twenty  such  schools  have  been  established  among 
the  Greeks  in  this  neighborhood  within  the  last  year,  one  of 
which  is  in  our  own  house,  and  contains  between  twenty  and 
thirty  girls  ;  and,  did  the  room  admit  of  it,  it  would  doubtless 
contain  twice  the  present  number.  In  these  schools  there 
cannot  be  much  less  than  two  thousand  children,  one  hundred 
of  whom  may  be  girls.  And  though  with  all  of  them  we 
have  not  so  much  connection  as  we  could  wish,  yet  it  is 
matter  of  devout  thankfulness  that  this  work  has  to  such  a 
degree  fallen  into  our  hands,  and  that  we  have  been  per 
mitted  directly  ourselves,  or  indirectly  through  our  agent,  to 
exercise  so  much  influence  over  them.  I  love  to  think  of 
these  schools,  particularly  as  the.  business  of  instruction  is 
thus  taken  away  from  bigoted  a"nd  vulgar  minds,  and  put 
into  the  hands  of  those  who  are  more  liberal  and  enlightened, 
and  who  teach  something  besides  the  liturgy  and  mummery 
6*  i 


130          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

of  the  church ;    and  we  hope  and  pray  that  many  of   the 
rising  generation  may  be  a  generation  to  praise  God." 

In  the  mean  while,  he  was  prosecuting  the  general  work  of 
the  mission,  embracing  every  opportunity  for  bringing  before 
the  minds  of  the  people  the  truths  of  the  Gospel.  Some 
extracts  from  his  journal  and  correspondence  will  give  an 
idea  of  his  work,  and  of  the  character  of  the  people  among 
whom  he  was  called  to  exercise  his  ministry.  The  first  of 
these  extracts  contains  a  simple  but  complete  answer  to  the 
sacramentarian  view  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  prevalent  eveo 
now  among  more  enlightened  communities :  — 

"October  24,  1831.  Read  and  conversed  with  the  two 
papal  Armenian  youth,  as  indeed  I  do  with  one  or  both  of 
them  almost  every  evening.  The  portion  of  Scripture,  which 
came  in  course,  was  part  of  the  twenty-sixth  chapter  of 
Matthew,  which  gave  me  an  opportunity  of  explaining  the 
nature  both  of  the  passover  and  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  The 
design  of  both,  I  remarked,  was  similar,  and  it  was  very 
remarkable  that  the  language  used  in  respect  to  both  was 
similar.  Thus,  in  the  one  case,  it  is  said, '  Prepare  the  pass- 
over,'  '  kill  the  passover,' '  eat  the  passover,'  &c.  But  the 
passover  was  the  passing  over  of  the  houses  of  the  children 
of  Israel,  when  the  first-born  of  Egypt  were  destroyed,  and 
was  not,  therefore,  a  thing  which  could  be  either  killed  or  eaten, 
or  on  which  any  such  sort  of  thing  could  be  predicated.  The 
disciples  did  not  and  could  not  eat  this  passing  over  of  houses  ; 
they  only  prepared,  killed,  and  ate  the  lamb  which  com 
memorated  this  event.  In  the  other  case  it  is  said,  '  Take, 
eat ;  this  is  my  body.'  But  the  disciples  neither  took  His 
body  nor  ate  it ;  they  only  took  and  ate  the  bread  which 
represented  it.  The  language  in  neither  case  is  literal,  but 
in  both  is  figurative,  and  in  both  is  easily  understood,  and  in 
both  is  to  be  understood  in  the  same  way. 

"  November  28.  Every  thing  in.  regard  to  schools  seems 
to  be  going  on  better  and  better,  arid  my  influence  seems  to 
be  widening  and  strengthening  every  day.  The  schools  are 
also,  as  might  naturally  be  expected,  exciting  a  desire  and 
creating  a  market  for  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  for  religious 
tracts.  These  angels  have  troubled  the  waters  of  the  pool. 
J  hope  all  the  first  ones  who  step  in  will  be  healed ;  and  I 


LETTER   TO    MRS.    BETHUNE.  131 

am  glad  I  am  here  to  help  some  of  the  poor,  impotent  folk 
in,  who  would  otherwise,  I  fear,  lie  a  long  time  in  their  dis 
eased  state.  Indeed,  as  Mrs.  Goodell  has  already  observed 
to  some  of  her  correspondents,  'We  evidently  came  to  Con 
stantinople  at  the  very  right  time,  and,  notwithstanding  our 
losses  and  privations,  we  rejoice  that  we  came  when  we 
did.' " 

The  memory  of  the  one  to  whom  the  following  letter  was 
addressed,  as  well  as  of  the  writer,  will  give  to  it  special 
interest :  — 

"  CONSTANTINOPLE,  Dec.  5,  1831. 
"  To  MRS.  JOANNA  BETHUNE  : 

"  DEAR  MADAM,  —  As  Dr.  De  Kay,  of  your  city,  is  pro 
ceeding  directly  from  this  to  New  York,  I  avail  myself  of 
the  opportunity  of  replying  to  your  esteemed  favor  of  July 
6.  It  was  received  early  in  October,  though  the  books  for 
Infant  School  No.  1,  which  you  sent  at  the  same  time,  were 
not  received  until  very  recently.  I  received  also  with  these 
several  other  books,  of  which  your  letter  made  no  mention, 
and  I  therefore  conclude  that  I  am  indebted  to  other  friends 
in  New  York,  as  well  as  yourself.  All  the  books,  both  yours 
and  theirs,  were  very  acceptable,  and  the  more  so  as  we  had 
recently  suffered  such  a  loss  by  the  conflagration  at  Pera,  of 
which  you  have  doubtless  heard.  Indeed,  by  that  terrible 
visitation  we  were,  in  almost  every  respect,  excepting  that 
our  persons  were  untouched  and  the  lives  of  our  children 
graciously  preserved,  reduced  in  one  short  hour  to  the  con 
dition  of  the  patriarch  Job.  But  our  friends  in  this  quarter, 
instead  of  sitting  down,  like  his  at  the  first,  upon  the  ground 
with  us,  and  not  speaking  a  word  of  comfort,  at  once  mani 
fested  great  sympathy  and  kindness  toward  us,  which  they 
expressed  in  deeds  as  well  as  in  words.  And  if  those  at  a 
distance  do  the  same,  we  and  they  shall  be  like  Job  and  his 
friends  at  the  last,  when  they  all  came  to  cofnfort  him ;  and 
he  prayed  for  them,  and  every  man  also  gave  him  a  piece  of 
money,  and  every  one  an  ear-ring  of  gold ;  and  the  Lord 
blessed  the  latter  end  of  Job  more  than  his  beginning. 

"  As  to  our  circumstances,  our  schools,  and  our  prospects,  I 
beg  leave  to  refer  you  to  Dr.  De  Kay.  He  has  resided  here 
about  four  months,  and  near  hall  the  time  in  our  own  fam 
ily  ;  and  to  his  professional  advice  and  services  on  several 
occasions,  as  well  as  to  his  friendship,  and  that  of  Messrs. 


132  FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

Eckford   and   Rhind,  who  are   also   from  New  York,  we 
acknowledge  with  pleasure  our  obligations. 

"  We  commend  ourselves  and  our  labors,  and  those  whose 
temporal  and  everlasting  good  we  are  seeking,  to  your 
prayers.  We  love  to  think  of  the  good  people  of  your  city  ; 
of  the  intercourse  we  enjoyed  with  some  of  them  in  former 
years  ;  of  our  many  obligations  to  them  for  their  repeated 
kindnesses  ;  and  of  the  visitations  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
the  great  increase  which  has  in  consequence  been  made  to 
your  churches.  The  Lord  add  to  their  number  a  thousand 
fold,  and  increase  you  more  and  more,  you  and  your  chil 
dren. 

"  Mrs.  Goodell  unites  in  Christian  salutations.  Remember 
us  also  to  all  our  friends  in  New  York  who  may  inquire  after 
us.  May  you  and  their  families,  all  of  them,  be  like  the 
interesting  family  at  Bethany,  where  the  Saviour  often  vis 
ited,  and  where  every  one  loved  Him  and  was  loved  by  Him  ! 
May  the  children  of  your  infant  arid  Sabbath  schools  also 
cry  in  the  temple,  '  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David  ! '  And 
may  every  one  of  them  be  taken  up  by  Him  in  His  arms  and 
blessed. 

*  Excuse  haste,  and  believe  me,  my  dear  madam, 

u  Yours  truly, 

"  W.  GOODELL." 

"January  14,  1832.  Went  to  Galata,  and  thence  nearly 
to  the  Seven  Towers,  to  visit  the  Armenian  patriarch  in  his 
palace.  He  appeared  to  be  about  fifty  years  old,  his  beard 
long,  black,  and  thick,  befitting  his  exalted  station,  and  his 
deportment  in  all  respects  marked  with  dignity.  Both  he 
and  his  vicar  received  me  very  graciously,  and  conversed 
with  much  apparent  interest  about  America,  schools,  &c. 
The  patriarch  was  very  inquisitive  respecting  our  religion, 
and  wished  to  know  whether  we  followed  Calvin  or  Luther, 
the  vicar  having  previously  laid  it  down  as  an  incontro 
vertible  proposition  that  all  Protestants  were  followers  either 
of  one  or  of  the  other.  I  replied -that  in  America  there  was 
the  most  perfect  freedom  in  regard  to  religious  sentiments 
and  worship,  and  that  there  were  various  denominations  of 
Christians  ;  and  that,  though  some  of  these,  it  is  true,  were 
called  Calviiiists  and  some  Lutherans,  and  others  by  still  dif 
ferent  names,  yet  I  knew  the  fact  to  be  that  they  did  not 
generally  inquire  what  Luther,  Calvin,  or  any  other  man 


THE   EPIPHANIA.  133 

believed  in  order  to  know  what  to  believe  themselves,  but 
were  remarkably  free  from  all  shackles  of  this  kind,  and 
inquired  simply  what  God  had  said  in  His  holy  word.  To 
this  they  at  once  bowed  assent.  The  patriarch  then  inquired 
about  missionary  operations  in  China,  which  led  me  to  speak 
of  the  missions  recently  established  there ;  of  those  also  in 
India  and  Burmah ;  and  of  the  wonderful  change  that  had 
been  produced  in  the  moral  condition  of  the  inhabitants  at 
the  Sandwich  Islands.  He  was  very  anxious  to  know  what 
kind  of  Christians  our  missionaries  made  them,  what  sect 
they  were  made  to  follow,  what  name  they  took,  &c.  I  told 
him  that  they  were  not  baptized  in  the  name  of  Calvin, 
Luther,  the  pope,  or  any  one  else,  but  simply  '  in  the  name 
of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost ; '  that 
they  embraced  Christianity  in  its  primitive  purity,  without 
any  thing  foreign  being  mixed  with  it ;  and  jiiat  they  were 
formed  into  churches  that  4  knew  no  man  after  the  flesh,'  but 
received  the  pure  unadulterated  word  of  God  as  the  sufficient 
and  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice.  To  this  he,  with  his 
vicar,  again  gave  the  fullest  assent,  but  seemed  at  the  same 
time  to  be  iilled  with  wonder  at  so  extraordinary  and  yet  so 
reasonable  a  course.  He  expressed  for  me  and  for  America 
much  of  the  Oriental  kind  of  love,  of  which  every  man  here 
seems  to  keep  always  a  large  stock  on  hand,  and  said  if  he 
had  not  seen  me  he  must  have  gone  there,  but  in  being 
favored  with  a  sight  of  me,  he  had  seen  America,  and  was 
glad. 

"January  18.  The  Epiphania  of  the  Greeks.  Went' to 
the  Greek  church  a  quarter  before  six,  while  it  was  yet  dark, 
and  found  a  great  crowd  assembled  in  the  yard  or  iuclosure 
of  the  church,  and  the  priests  chanting  their  service  over  a 
barrel  or  large  firkin  of  water,  with  the  cross  planted  by  the 
side  of  it.  As  soon  as  they  had  finished  blessing  and  conse 
crating  it,  and  were  retiring  to  the  church,  there  was  a  uni 
versal  rush  of  the  people  for  some  of  the  holj  water  tc  drink, 
and  to  carry  away  in  bottles ;  and  such  pushing,  pulling, 
scrambling,  bawling  ensued  as  I  have  seldom  seen  even  at 
football. 

"  On  entering  the  church,  I  was  conducted  to  the  seat 
belonging  to  the  principal  priest,  and  where  I,  of  course,  had 
a  good  view  of  all  that  passed.  .'In  the  midst  of  the  chants 
and  prayers,  this  priest  went  at  different  times  through  the 
crowd  with  a  basin  or  cruse  of  the  holy  water  in  one  hand 


134    FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE. 

and  a  small  brush,  made  of  a  few  twigs  tied  together,  in  the 
other  ;  and,  while  the  people  bowed  down  to  kiss  his  hand, 
he  sprinkled  them  with  the  brush  dipped  in  the  holy  water, 
and  crossed  them  on  the  forehead  with  it. 

"  Near  the  close  the  same  priest  carried  round  the  broken 
bread;  and  again  there  was  a  general  scramble  of  men, 
women,  and  children  to  get  a  bit,  and,  on  bowing  the  head  to 
receive  it,  they  always  kissed  the  hand  that  gave  it. 

"  A  large  procession  was  now  formed,  and  the  principal 
priest  carried  the  cross  with  great  formality  and  ceremony  to 
baptize  it,  as  they  term  it ;  that  is,  to  throw  it  into  the  Bos- 
phorus,  and  see  who  will  plunge  in  and  get  it  first.  They 
proceeded,  chanting  as  they  went,  to  a  fine  quay  opposite  the 
Russian  palace.  I  stood  on  the  lowest  step,  with  the  priest 
on  the  same  step  next  to  me  on  one  side,  and  six  naked  fel 
lows,  shivering  with  the  cold,  on  the  other,  while  an  immense 
crowd  of  people  were  behind,  stretching  along  the  shore  to 
the  right  and  left,  or  were  in  boats  directly  in  front.  In 
order  to  deceive  the  poor  fellows,  and  put  them  off  their 
guard,  the  priest  several  times  raised  his  hand  and  made  as 
if ;  they  laughed  at  the  artifice  practised  upon  them,  and  the 
people  laughed,  and  the  priest  looked  at  me,  and  laughed  as 
heartily  as  any  of  them.  At  length  he  flung  it  two  or  three 
rods  from  the  shore,  and  instantly  there  was  a  headlong 
plunge  after  it,  and  a  momentary  but  vehement  struggle  who 
should  first  get  possession  of  it.  The  successful  candidate 
first  immersed  it  the  whole  length  of  his  arm  beneath  the 
waves,  then  kissed  it,  and  presented  it  successively  to  the  lips 
of  his  comrades  for  a  salute  from  each  of  them.  The  ladies 
in  the  boats  now  vociferated  to  him,  all  unclothed  as  he  was, 
to  come  to  them,  that  they  might  next  enjoy  the  privilege 
of  kissing  it.  This,  as  it  appeared,  he  felt  constrained  to  do, 
though  the  priests  and  elders  on  shore  were  in  the  mean  time 
bawling  after  him  to  hasten  back  to  them,  that  they  might 
give  it  the  same  token  of  love,  and  march  it  back  in  triumph 
to  the  church. 

"  The  aga  of  the  village  was  present  to  keep  order  on  the 
occasion  !  a  Mussulman,  with  a  wfiip  in  his  hand,  to  keep 
Christians  from  devouring  one  another,  or  committing  any 
excesses  during  their  religious  solemnities !  The  whole 
appeared  like  a  farce. 

"  February  14, 1832.  My  birth-day  !  A  severe  snow-storm. 
I  recollect  to  have  heard  from  my  mother  that  there  was  a 


A   SNOW-STORM.  135 

tremendous  snow-storm  the  day  I  was  born,  forty  years  ago 
to-day,  both  as  to  the  day  of  the  week,  Tuesday,  and  day  of 
the  month,  14th.  My  life  has  been  a  stormy  one,  but  the 
Lord  has  ever  afforded  a  shelter  from  the  blast.  How  many 
of  my  beloved  friends  and  acquaintances  have  gone  to  heaven, 
while  I  am  still  a  pilgrim  and  a  stranger,  not  yet  arrived  at 
the  heavenly  rest !  One,  the  Rev.  R.  Cushman,  with  whom 
I  have  spent  hours  and  hours  in  singing  the  songs  of  Zion,  is 
now  tuning  his  harp  before  the  throne,  while  I  must  sing  the 
Lord's  song  in  a  strange  land. 

"  '  When  shall  I  bow  amongst  them  there, 
And  view  thy  face  and  sing  thy  love  ? ' 

"  '  I  would  not  live  alway ;  I  ask  not  to  stay 

Where  storm  after  storm  rises  dark  o'er  the  way.* 

"  I  am  now  as  old  as  Caleb  was  when  ho  was  sent  by 
Moses  to  spy  out  the  country.  I  have  lived  as  long  as  the 
children  of  Israel  were  wandering  in  the  wilderness,  and  of 
me,  as  of  them,  can  it  now  be  said,  '  Forty  years  long  was 
I  grieved  with  this  generation.' 

"  February  15.  The  snow  fell  yesterday  about  mid-leg  deep, 
the  storm  continuing  from  morning  till  evening.  It  seemed 
an  old  acquaintance,  and  I  went  out  both  yesterday  and  this 
morning  in  the  midst  of  it  and  bid  it  welcome,  and  took  it  in 
my  hands  and  made  a  snowball.  I  also  took  with  me  our 
three  eldest  children,  to  introduce  them  to  it.  They  were  de 
lighted  with  its  appearance,  saying  it  looked  like  soap-su/J.s 
I  set  W.  down  in  the  midst  of  the  snow,  and  when  he  began 
to  sink  in  it  he  cried  out,  not  knowing  how  deep  he  was 
going.  Many  fine  icicles  were  hanging  from  the  houses, 
some  of  which  I  succeeded  in  getting,  and  presented  to  my 
children  as  old  friends.  Some  of  the  snow  and  icicles  they 
brought  into  the  house  to  see  what  they  were,  and  what  would 
become  of  them  when  placed  near  the  fire.  It  snowed  only 
once  at  Beyrout  all  the  time  we  were  there,  and  that  was 
the  second  winter.  At  Malta  it  never  snows. 

"  March  24.  This  morning  took  our  final  departure  from 
the  Commodore's.  We  have  lived  with  him  since  the  19th 
of  October,  a  little  more  than  five  months,  and  have  every 
day  shared  his  hospitality  and  kind  attentions ;  anil  no 
unpleasant  word  has  ever  passed  between  us.  May  he  at 
last  have  '  a  building  of  God,  an  house  not  made  with  hands, 
eternal  in  the  heavens.'  The  house  I  have  taken  here  be- 


136          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

longs  to  Ismail  Effendi,  who  has  once  been  ambassador  to 
England,  who  was,  several  years  since,  sent  into  exile  by  the 
present  Sultan  for  his  infidel  sentiments,  but  was  afterward 
permitted  to  return  to  the  capital.  This  house  is  the  one  in 
which  we  found  shelter  the  first  and  second  nights  after  the 
great  fire.  In  all  our  removings  may  we,  like  Abraham, 
erect  an  altar  unto  the  Lord,  and  call  upon  the  name  of  Je 
hovah.  May  every  room  in  this  house  be  consecrated,  and 
here  may  the  Lord  come  unto  us  and  bless  us. 

"  April  2.  Baptized  a  child,  infant  daughter  of  the  Dutch 
consul,  by  the  name  of  Sophie  Hortense.  The  father  is  a 
Frenchman  and  a  Protestant ;  the  mother,  a  Polish  lady  and  a 
Catholic.  The  whole  house  of  Scanavi  were  present,  also 
all  of  my  own  family,  together  with  Panayotes,  whom  I  met  in 
the  street.  I  read  portions  from  the  Modern  Greek  Testa* 
ment,  baptized  the  child  in  Italian,  prayed  in  English,  and 
conversed  in  Turkish,  which  Panayotes  translated.  Mr.  Borelli 
arid  Madame  Scanavi  were  very  anxious  I  should  baptize  the 
child,  and  the  mother  was  fearful  lest  it  should  die,  as  it  was 
not  well.  May  it  be  baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost. 

"  April  27.  As  our  excellent  friends,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  W., 
are  about  returning  to  England,  I  accepted  an  invitation  to 
join  them  in  a  short  excursion.  We  first  went  to  Beshik 
Tash  to  see  the  Sultan  go  to  the  mosque.  He  was  attended 
with  much  less  pomp  and  ceremony  than  when  I  have  seen 
him  on  former  occasions  ;  but  I  observed  what  I  never  did 
before,  that,  on  his  leaving  the  mosque,  and  appearing  on 
horseback  in  the  presence  of  the  multitude,  two  persons 
burnt  incense  before  him  as  though  he  were  a  deity.  Per 
haps,  however,  no  idea  of  that  kind  was  intended  to  be  con 
veyed,  as  the  custom  of  burning  incense  prevails  in  all  the 
Oriental  churches. 

"  We  afterwards  went  to  what  is  called  the  Ballukly,  or 
Fish  Church.  This  is  a  Greek  church,  or  rather  the  ruins 
of  a  church,  for  it  was  torn  down  by  the  Janizaries  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Greek  revolution.  It  is  outside  the 
Silivria  Gate,  near  Top-Kapusi,  where  the  Turks  made  an 
entrance  when  they  took  Constantinople.  The  story  on 
which  the  great  celebrity  of  the  church  was  founded  is  this : 
The  day  on  which  the  city  was  captured  was  a  fast,  and  the 
priests  belonging  to  the  church  were  preparing  a  fast-day 
dinner  of  fried  fish.  While  they  were  thus  engaged,  some 
one  brought  them  word  that  the  city  was  taken  by  the  Turks. 


MIRACULOUS   FISHES.  137 

An  incredulous  priest  said,  that  sooner  than  believe  this  he 
would  believe  that  the  fish  that  were  then  frying  in  the  pan 
would  jump  out  into  the  fish-pond,  and  swim  about  alive; 
which  was  no  sooner  said  than  done,  and,  according  to  the 
story,  if  not  the  faith,  of  these  people,  the  fish  are  to  be  seen 
swimming  about,  fried  on  one  side,  unto  this  day.  To-day  is 
the  anniversary  of  that  event,  and  wonderful  miracles  are 
said  to  be  wrought  there  on  these  occasions.  We  found 
multitudes  of  people  assembled,  —  men,  women,  and  chil 
dren,  —  not  only  Greeks,  but  Turks,  Armenians,  and  Franks. 
The  place  is  in  the  midst  of  a  very  extensive  Turkish  bury- 
ing-ground,  and  everywhere  in  the  midst  of  this  mighty  con 
gregation  of  the  dead  was  heard  the  sound,  if  not  of  the  viol, 
yet  of  the  bagpipe,  —  the  players  sitting  upon  the  sepulchral 
monuments,  and  the  Greeks  dancing  merrily  among  the 
thick  graves.  To  go  to  the  graveyard  to  make  kaif,  i.e.,  to 
have  a  jollification,  —  to  dance,  drink  coffee,  tell  love-stories, 
and  show  their  gayest  dresses  and  liveliest  manners  and  most 
beauteous  forms,  is  very  common  in  Constantinople,  and  with 
others  besides  Greeks. 

"  The  fish-pond  is  below,  under  the  ruins  of  the  church. 
The  entrance  to  it  was  guarded  by  Turks,  who  exacted  trib 
ute  of  all  that  went  in.  *  But  the  fish,  —  where  are  the  fish  ? ' 
said  I,  rather  impatiently,  to  some  priests,  who  were  selling 
candles  to  assist  our  vision  in  the  broad  light  of  mid-day. 
They  replied,  with  great  calmness  and  becoming  gravity,  that 
the  multitudes  of  people  had  frightened  them  away,  so  tht»t 
not  one  was  to  be  seen.  But  though  we  saw  no  fish,  we  saw 
jisliiny  enough  ;  for  there  was  an  abundance  of  priests,  hold 
ing  plates  at  every  corner  to  receive  offerings.  The  maimed, 
the  deaf,  the  lame,  the  halt,  and  the  blind  were  there  ;  but  I 
saw  them  return  as  they  came,  —  without  beneft.  I  gave 
some  of  these  miserable  objects  a  few  paras  ;  but  I  did  not 
see  one  '  walking  and  leaping  and  praising  God '  for  the  gift 
of  healing. 

"  As  it  was  too  late  to  return  to  Buyuk-Dere,  I  went  with 
Mr.  F.,  who  has  rooms  in  a  khan  in  Constantinople,  and 
we  finally  dined  and  spent  the  night  with  his  Turkish  teacher, 
Halim  Effendi,  who  is  at  the  head  of  a  large  Mussulman 
school  in  the  city.  He  reads  and  speaks  Greek  as  well  as 
Turkish ;  and  he  had  in  his  library  copies  of  the  New  Testa 
ment,  both  in  Turkish  and  in  Greek,  also  Mr.  Temple's 
spelling-book,  and  other  useful  works.  He  is  a  great  friend 


138          FORTY   YEARS   IN    THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

to  these  schools  of  mutual  instruction,  one  of  which  he  has 
visited ;  wishes  much  that  the  system  may  be  adopted  by  the 
Turks,  and  says  that  if  the  capudan  pasha  or  the  seraskier 
pasha  would  patronize  such  a  school,  the  experiment  would 
not  fail  to  succeed.  I  told  him  I  thought  I  would  make  use 
of  my  friend,  Mr.  Eckford,  in  bringing  the  subject  under 
their  consideration. 

"  Halim  Effendi  is  distantly  related  to  Ismail  Effendi, 
and,  like  his  distinguished  relative,  he  drinks  wine,  curses  the 
prophet,  speaks  highly  of  the  life  of  Christ,  and  contemptibly 
of  that  of  Mohammed.  In  the  course  of  the  evening  he 
closed  the  door,  and  asked  me,  '  Who  is  Christ  ?  Whom  do 
you  consider  Him  to  be  ? '  I  replied  that  I  knew  Him  to 
possess  human  nature ;  in  other  words,  to  be  a  man,  because 
He  sustained  the  relations,  performed  the  actions,  and  suf 
fered  the  infirmities  of  man ;  He  was  a  son,  a  brother,  a 
neighbor,  a  master,  a  friend ;  He  walked  and  talked,  and  ate 
and  slept,  and  learnt  and  worked  at  Mis  trade  ;  was  hungry, 
thirsty,  fatigued,  sorrowful,  glad,  &c. ;  that  I  knew  Him  also 
to  possess  a  divine  nature,  or  to  be  God,  because  He  did  the 
works  of  God,  claimed  an  equality  with  God,  and  fully  sub 
stantiated  His  claims  by  miracles.  Upon  this  he  immediately 
seized  my  hand,  and  kissed  it,  and  declared  that  he  had  never 
heard  such  an  answer  before  from  the  mouth  of  any  one, 
Armenian,  Greek,  or  Frank  ;  that  it  expressed  his  belief 
exactly ;  and  that  Christ  must  be  a  most  exalted  personage, 
—  God,  if  we  pleased  to  call  Him  such.  On  his  remarking 
something  about  the  Christians  of  these  countries,  I  told  him 
he  must  not  call  them  Christians  ;  he  might  call  them  any 
thing  else  he  chose,  but  the  name  Christian  was  most  inap 
propriate  ;  he  must  not  judge  of  Christianity  by  their  works 
or  their  ceremonies  ;  they  had  forsaken  the  Gospel,  and 
adopted  other  things  instead  thereof,  which  were  any  thing 
but  Christianity.  Here  he  again  seized  my  hand,  and  de 
clared  that  my  words  were  true,  as  he  could  testify. 

" May  2.  Called  at  the  palace  of  the  Armenian  patriarch ; 
visited  the  schools  there,  which  .contain  five  hundred  boys 
of  different  ages,  and  in  several  apartments.  I  afterward 
called  upon  the  patriarch's  vicar,  first  sending  up  word  to 
know  whether  a  visit  would  be  acceptable.  I  was  no  sooner 
seated  on  the  sofa  than  he  began  to  examine  me  very  closely 
on  my  religious  faith,  and  to  sift  my  answers  in  the  presence 
of  the  priests  and  others  in  the  room.  As  the  object  of  my 


INTERVIEW   WITH   PATRIARCH.  139 

visit  was  schools,  I  was  sorry  to  have  any  thing  of  a  contro 
versial  nature  introduced,  and  was  disposed  at  first  to  waive 
the  subject ;  but  I  did  not  long  think  it  best  to  decline  giving 
him  a  frank  disclosure  of  my  sentiments.  He  first  brought 
forward  the  subject  of  the  eucharist ;  and,  after  asking  how 
often  we  received  it,  he  wished  to  know  what  we  considered 
it  to  be.  In  order  to  avoid  an  answer,  which  I  foresaw  must 
end  in  a  dispute,  I  replied,  in  general  terms,  that  we  cele 
brated  the  ordinance  in  remembrance  of  Christ,  of  His  love, 
His  sufferings,  and  His  death.  Not  being  satisfied  with  this, 
he  put  the  question  in  a  still  more  direct  manner.  I  told 
him  that  we  always  used  the  Scripture  language  on  this  sub 
ject,  — '  This  is  my  body,'  and  '  This  is  my  blood.' 

"  Q.  Is  it  "not,  then,  real  flesh  and  blood  that  you  par 
take  of  ? 

"A.  No  ;  everybody  among  us  knows  better  than  that 
from  the  taste. 

" Q.  But  do  they  not  consider  it  to  be  changed? 

"A.  How  changed  ?     Changed  into  what  ? 

"  Q.  Do  they  not,  at  least,  suppose  the  power  of  God  to 
be  in  it,  in  an  especial  manner  ? 

"A.  When  Christ  says,  '  I  am  the  door,'  and  1 1  am  the 
vine,'  is  the  power  of  God  in  the  door  or  in  the  vine  in  a 
more  especial  manner  than  it  is  in  the  window  or  in  the  Jig- 
tree  ? 

"  Here  all  present  burst  into  a  hearty  laugh,  in  which  the 
vicar  himself  joined.  He  then  asked  whether  I  did  not 
believe  that  there  was  something  in  it  essentially  spiritual.  I 
replied  that  every  bit  and  particle  of  it  went  into  the  stomach 
and  was  there  digested,  and  was  then  'cast  out  into  the 
draught ; '  that  the  way  to  a  man's  heart  was  not  through  his 
mouth  ;  that  nothing  entering  in  at  the  mouth  goes  to  the 
heart,  but  to  the  stomach,  and  can  neither  purify  nor  '  defile 
the  man '  in  any  other  sense  except  a  physical  one.  Is  it 
not  so,  Effendi  ? 

"  Yes,  true ;  but  is  it,  then,  of  no  benefit  to  our  souls  f 
said  he. 

"A.  Certainly  ;  it  was  given  us  for  no  other  purpose. 

"Q.  But  if  it  be  not  changed,  not  made  in  some  way 
essentially  holy,  how  can  it  be  of  any  spiritual  benefit 
to  us  ? 

"A.  Are  the  letters  of  the  alphabet  spiritual  substances, 
or  material,  —  things  made  with  men's  hands  f 


140  FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

"  The  latter,  certainly. 

"  But  when  we  make  use  of  these  material  things  in 
reading  the  Scriptures,  are  not  our  souls  benefited? 

"  To  this  he,  in  the  midst  of  another  general  laugh  from 
those  present,  assented,  and  pressed  me  no  more  on  the  sub 
ject.  I  then  told  him,  what  he  seemed  little  prepared  to 
expect,  that  we  in  America  consider  the  ordinance  so  sacred 
that  we  never  profaned  it  by  giving  it  to  the  whole  congre 
gation  indiscriminately,  but  to  those  only  who  in  the  judg 
ment  of  charity  were  true  Christians. 

"  After  this  he  asked  about  our  funerals,  our  way  of  mak-i 
ing  priests,  confession,  &c.  And  I  gave  him  a  very  particu 
lar  account  of  our  customs  in  these  respects,  with  which  he 
and  the  others  seemed  rather  pleased  than  otherwise.  He 
then  appointed  one  of  the  teachers  present,  an  interesting 
and  intelligent  youth,  who  has  visited  our  school  at  Galata, 
and  who  is  much  pleased  with  the  system,  to  come  and  spend 
several  days  in  the  school,  in  order  to  make  himself  master 
of  the  system,  and  to  introduce  it  among  the  Armenians." 

In  May,  1832,  Mr.  Goodell,  accompanied  by  Commodore 
Porter,  made  a  journey  to  Broosa,  which  is  about  eighty 
miles  south-east  of  Constantinople.  As  the  object  of  the 
journey  was  to  examine  the  religious  condition  of  the  coun 
try,  he  took  the  route  by  land,  around  the  head  of  the  Gulf 
of  Bithynia,  thereby  doubling  the  distance,  but  enabling  him 
to  visit  some  of  the  more  important  cities  and  villages  by  the 
way.  He  stopped  at  Nicomedia,  the  former  capital  of  Bi 
thynia,  the  residence  of  the  Emperor  Constantine  and  of  sev 
eral  of  his  successors.  Here,  too,  Dioclesian  had  his  winter 
palace,  and  from  this  place  he  issued  his  edicts  against 
Christianity,  and  began  the  terrible  persecution  by  which  he 
hoped  to  erase  the  Christian  name  from  the  earth.  The 
route  lay  also  by  the  almost  deserted  city  of  Nice  (or  Isnik, 
as  it  was  then  called),  where  two  of  the  ancient  councils  were 
held,  the  one  called  by  Constantine  A.D.  325,  at  which  the 
Arian  heresy  was  condemned ;  the  other  in  787,  under  the 
Empress  Irene,  and  her  son,  Constantine  VI.,  at  which  image- 
worship  was  established.  The  desolate  condition  of  this  once 
famous  city  he  describes  as  follows  :  — 


NICE.  141 

"  The  city  cannot  be  much  less  than  six  miles  in  circum 
ference,  and  it  is  surrounded  by  double  walls,  the  inner  one  of 
which  is  twenty-five  feet  high,  and  at  the  base  fourteen  feet 
thick.  These  walls  are  forty-eight  feet  apart,  with  a  fosse 
between,  and  at  the  distance  of  every  forty  paces  they  have 
upon  them  a  double  line  of  marble  and  brick  towers,  square- 
built.  The  gates  are  triple,  one  within  another,  evidently 
rebuilt  at  an  ancient  period,  from  materials  still  more  ancient. 
Indeed,  almost  every  thing  seems  to  have  been  rebuilt  again 
and  again.  Even  the  very  mud  cottages  of  the  present  gen 
eration  are  composed  of  fragments  of  the  fine  arts  ;  and  in 
them,  as  well  as  in  those  parts  of  the  walls  of  the  city  that 
have  been  repaired,  are  inserted  here  arid  there  mutilated 
bas-reliefs  and  Greek  inscriptions,  often  turned  upside  down. 
But  most  of  the  habitations  of  this  once  crowded  population 
are  totally  obliterated.  The  ploughshare  now  passes  over  a 
great  part  of  the  ancient  city  ;  the  sepulchres  of  the  dead  are 
ploughed  up,  and  fields  of  wheat  and  mulberry  now  occupy 
the  sites  of  ancient  palaces  and  temples  and  mausoleums. 
The  ivy  runs  over  the  wall ;  the  wild  bird  screams  upon  the 
mouldering  towers  ;  the  tall  grass  waves  in  the  midst  of 
deserted  halls  ;  and  briers  and  weeds  luxuriate  where  nought 
but  taste  and  elegance  and  beauty  and  fashion  and  gayety 
and  pleasure  once  existed. 

"  Here  we  saw  the  stork  build  her  nest,  and  the  gray 
squirrel  revel  without  fear  amidst  marble  figures  defaced  and 
fractured,  but  still  disclosing  the  charms  of  symmetry  and 
proportion,  and  the  design  of  the  ancient  Greek  chisel. 
Here  we  saw  mosques  and  baths  that  were  built  from  the 
ruins  of  pagan  and  Christian  temples,  themselves  crumbled 
to  ruins ;  and  shafts  and  capitals  of  marble  columns  strewed 
upon  the  ground,  and  literally  turning  to  dust  by  natural 
decay.  Indeed,  the  tooth  of  time  has  left  here  more  signal 
marks  of  his  ravages  than  I  have  ever  seen  in  any  place 
before.  It  is  very  common  in  this  country  to  find  an  exten 
sive  bury  ing-ground  connected  with  a  comparatively  small 
village,  showing  the  population  to  have  once  been  much 
greater  than  at  present,  or  the  congregation  of  the  dead  to 
be  far  greater  than  that  of  the  living.  But  here  even  the 
burying-grounds  are  themselves  buried  ;  the  sepulchres  are 
literally  sepulchred.  Pagan  priests  and  Christian  bishops, 
councils  of  prelates  and  armies  of  crusaders,  potentates  and 
powers,  countless  myriads  of  this  once  populous  and  luxuri- 


142  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

ous  city,  have  passed  away,  and  not  even  the  repository  of 
their  ashes  can  be  found  any  more  at  all.  k  Thou,  Lord,  in 
the  beginning  hast  laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth  ;  and  the 
heavens  are  the  work  of  thy  hands  ;  they  shall  perish,  but 
thou  remainest ;  and  they  all  shall  wax  old  as  doth  a  gar 
ment  ;  and  as  a  vesture  shalt  thou  fold  them  up,  and  they 
shall  be  changed ;  but  thou  art  the  same,  and  thy  years  shall 
not  fail.' " 

He  spent  four  or  five  days  at  Broosa,  visiting  the  Armeni 
ans,  Greeks,  and  Jews  in  their  homes,  calling  upon  the  eccle 
siastics,  and  gathering  information  in  regard  to  the  spiritual 
condition  and  wants  of  the  people.  The  impressions  made 
upon  his  mind  he  communicated  to  the  Board  in  an  earnest 
recommendation  of  Broosa  as  a  desirable  point  to  be  occu 
pied  for  missionary  labor.  On  his  return  to  Constantinople, 
he  wrote  :  — 

"  This  whole  tour  has  been  made  in  the  ancient  Bithynia, 
the  three  principal  towns  of  which  are  Nicomedia,  Nice,  and 
Broosa,  all  of  which,  with  many  others,  we  visited.  Paul 
and  his  companions  once  '  assayed  to  go  into  Bithynia,  but 
the  Spirit  suffered  them  not.'  The  Gospel,  however,  was 
introduced  there  soon  after,  and  flourished ;  and  it  was  '  to 
the  strangers  scattered  throughout '  not  only  '  Pontus,  Gala- 
tia,  Cappadocia,  and  Asia,'  but  also  '  Bithynia,'  that  Peter 
addressed  his  first  epistle.  We  experienced  much  kindness 
from  the  people  in  almost  every  place  we  visited  in  this 
interesting  country  ;  but  such  *  strangers,'  '  strangers  and  pil 
grims  on  the  earth,'  whose  treasures  and  hearts  are  in  heaven  ; 
who  *  desire  a  better  country,  that  is,  an  heavenly  ; '  and  who 
feel  and  act  as  though  they  are  travelling  through  the  wilder 
ness  to  their  eternal  inheritance,  —  I  fear  are  not  now  to  be 
found  in  the  whole  country.  They  need  some  one  to  '  ex 
pound  unto  them  the  way  of  God  more  perfectly  ; '  to  '  teach 
them  again  which  be  the  first  principles  of  the  oracles  of 
God  ; '  to  show  them  i  what  manner  of  love  the  Father  hath 
bestowed  upon  us  ; '  to  '  turn  away  their  ears  from  fables  ; ' 
and  to  call  their  attention  to  '  Him  that  speaketh  from 
heaven.' " 

The  place  was  occupied  as  a  mission  station  in  1834,  by 
the  Rev.  Benjamin  Schneider,  who  not  long  after  was  joined 


GREEK   SCHOOL   FOR   GIRLS.  143 

by  other  laborers ;  and  it  has  enjoyed  the  signal  manifesta 
tions  of  God's  presence  in  a  blessing  upon  their  labors  ever 
since. 

A  large  number  of  schools  for  Greek  boys  being  in  success 
ful  operation  at  Constantinople,  Mr.  Goodell,  in  May,  1832, 
opened  the  first  school  for  girls,  which  in  the  course  of  a  few 
days  had  twenty-five  scholars.  This  last  movement,  being 
such  a  decided  innovation  upon  the  customs  and  opinions  of 
the  people,  roused  the  ecclesiastics.  On  the  5th  of  August 
the  Greek  synod  issued  an  excommunication  against  all  who 
gave  it  any  encouragement.  The  document  ran  thus : 
"  Since  the  man "  (Mr.  Goodell)  "  who  has  a  school  in  his 
house  is  different  from  us  in  his  form,  habit,  and  ethics, 
therefore,  whoever  send  their  children  to  the  school,  let  them 
be  excommunicated." 

The  action  of  the  synod  awakened  a  counter-excitement. 
The  people,  and  especially  the  women,  began  to  see  a  new 
light  dawning  upon  them  and  upon  their  daughters.  If  they 
did  not  in  turn  excommunicate  the  bishop,  through  whom  the 
edict  was  promulgated,  they  did  not  fail  to  bestow  upon  him 
some  of  their  choicest  anathemas.  The  bishop,  when  remon 
strated  with  for  his  course  in  attempting  to  break  up  the  girls' 
school,  replied  with  great  emphasis,  "  Why  should  girls  learn 
to  read  and  write  ?  They  will  be  writing  love-letters  next ! " 
which,  in  such  a  country,  would  of  course  be  a  heinous  crime, 
and  was  not  to  be  thought  of  for  a  moment. 

Amidst  the  excitement  and  controversy  among  the  Greeks 
and  the  Armenians,  almost  unexpectedly  there  sprang  up  a 
desire  on  the  part  of  the  Turks  to  have  schools  established  for 
the  benefit  of  their  own  children,  a  few  enlightened  men  taking 
the  lead,  and  taking  also  the  responsibility,  which  was  not  light. 
"  At  an  examination  of  the  school  at  Arnaut-Keu^,"  wrote 
Mr.  Goodell,  "  several  Mussulmans  were  presem*,  among 
whom  was  a  bin-bashy  and  an  on-bin-bashy  (Turkish  officers). 
They  are  determined  to  have  a  school  among  tho  Mussul 
mans,  and  had  a  long  talk  with  Mr.  L.  on  the*  subject 


144          FORTY    YEARS   IN    THE    TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

They  have  already  selected  a  house  at  Beshik-Tash,  and 
prepared  seats,  with  the  knowledge  of  the  Sultan,  but  intend 
to  keep  it  a  secret  from  the  seraskier  pasha,  and  in  the  course 
of  a  month  will  invite  the  Sultan,  and  surprise  him  with  their 
progress." 

This  project  was  fully  carried  out.  One  school  for  Turk 
ish  children  was  established  at  Beshik-Tash  and  another  at 
Scutari,  suburbs  of  Constantinople,  which  were  visited  by 
the  Turkish  officials,  who  manifested  the  warmest  interest  in 
the  wonderful  progress  made  by  the  children  under  the  new 
system  of  instruction,  so  different  from  the  old  and  useless 
routine.  Azim  Bey,  the  son  of  a  former  ambassador  to 
England,  a  highly  educated  man,  was  foremost  in  promoting 
the  enterprise,  and  on  one  occasion  he  addressed  the  scholars 
as  follows  :  — 

"  His  most  sublime  Majesty,  Sultan  Mahmoud,  desires 
your  good.  These  schools  are  rio  benefit  to  him,  but  he 
designs  them  for  your  benefit.  You  have  come  from  dif 
ferent  parts  of  the  empire ;  you  are  in  the  morning  of 
life,  and  it  is  now  in  your  power  to  become  learned  and 
wise.  In  the  old  Mussulman  schools  nothing  of  any  value 
was  learned ;  men  were  asses  ;  but  here  asses  may  become  men. 
This  badge  of  rank  which  you  see  on  my  breast  was  given 
me  by  my  sovereign,  as  a  token  of  his  regard.  To-morrow 
he  can  take  it  away,  and  then  I  shall  be  as  undistinguished 
as  any  other  man.  But  what  knowledge  I  acquire  he 
cannot  take  away  from  me.  The  terrible  conflagrations 
which,  you  see,  consume  almost  every  thing  else,  cannot 
burn  it ;  nor  can  the  floods  overwhelm  it,  or  tempest  sweep 
it  away.  Knowledge,  therefore,  young  men,  knowledge 
is  the  best  property  you  can  possess." 

Varieties  occur  in  missionary  life,  as  shown  by  the  follow 
ing  extracts  from  his  journal :  — 

"  July  24.  Was  visited  by  the  father  of  a  young  lady 
in  Yeni-Keuy.  He  was  my  most  humble  servant,  and  one 
of  his  daughters  was  still  more  so,  as  she  wished  me  to 
give  her  a  shift,  a  pair  of  stockings,  or  something  to  help 
her  to  marry.  He  had  heard  my  fame  from  afar. 


AMUSING    VISITOR.  145 

"Another  man  called,  a  shoemaker  living  in  Pera,  who, 
pulling  off  his  hat  and  bowing,  introduced  himself  in  the 
following  singular  manner:  'I  have  the  honor  to  find 
you  at  home,  sir.  I  am  an  Englishman,  sir.  I've  heard 
you  preach  on  board  the  cravat  (corvette),  sir.  I've  come 
on  a  curious  business ;  you'll  not  believe  me,  but  it's  true, 
sir.  I  must  take  an  oath  'fore  you,  sir,  that  I'll  not  drink 
a  drop  of  ardent  spirit  for  a  whole  year.  I'm  not  in 
liquor  now,  that's  true,  sir,'  —  at  the  same  time  thrusting 
his  fingers  instead  of  a  comb  into  his  hair,  and  looking 
altogether  like  one  who  was,  as  the  sailors  would  say, 
half  seas  over. 

"  I  told  him  that  I  was  no  magistrate,  and  had  no  author 
ity  to  administer  an  oath,  and  that,  moreover,  it  was  my 
duty  as  a  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  to  endeavor  to  persuade 
men  to  leave  off  swearing  as  well  as  drinking. 

" '  I  must  swear  to  it,'  said  he ;  '  I  must  down  on  my 
knees  'fore  you,  sir ;  and  you  must  read  a  chapter  over  me 
from  the  Bible  ;  and  I  must  swear  on  the  Holy  Gospel  not  to 
drink  spirit,  sir ;  nothing  else  will  save  me.  I  once  took 
such  an  oath,  and  it  answered  the  purpose  for  a  year,  and 
I  must  now  renew  it,  or  I'm  a  ruined  man,  sir.  And  unless 
I  stop  drinking  I  cannot  be  married  to  a  young  lady 
shortly/ 

"  I  replied,  you  must  regard  the  authority  of  Jehovah. 
If  His  high  commands  do  not  bind  you,  how  can  I  suppose 
you  will  feel  bound  by  an  oath. 

"'I  know  all  that,'  said  he;  'I've  been  t'New  York, 
and  t' Philadelphia,  and  all  along  the  coast  of  the  Caro- 
lirias ;  I  can  repeat  half  of  Mark,  sir ; '  and,  beginning  at 
the  second  chapter  of  Matthew,  he  began  to  repeat  it 
verbatim. 

"  At  length  I  suggested  that  he  might  enter  into  a  solemn 
obligation,  similar  to  that  which  the  members  of  the  tem 
perance  societies  take  upon  themselves  in  America.  The 
poor  man,  who,  notwithstanding  his  odd  way  of  introducing 
the  business,  yet  seemed  really  in  earnest  about  it,  was 
very  doubtful  whether  such  a  pledge,  without  the  formal 
administration  of  an  oath,  would  be  strong  enough ;  but 
he  finally  concluded  to  make  a  trial.  He  wished  the 
obligation  to  be  for  one  year  only.  We  told  him  thatybr  ever 
would  be  still  better.  He  thought  for  ever  would  be  too 
long,  but  consented  it  should  be  for  Jive  years  ;  and  solemnly 

7  j 


146    FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE. 

promised   to  drink   nothing   stronger   than   coffee   for   five 
years  from  July  24,  1832." 

The  following  incident  occurred  about  the  same  time  :  — 

"After  service  on  the  Sabbath,  I  tied  an  Englishman 
to  a  papal  Armenian  lady.  Him  I  tied  in  English,  and 
her  in  Turkish.  To  him  I  read  portions  of  the  New  Testa 
ment  in  English,  and  to  her  in  Greek.  She  understood 
both  Turkish  and  Greek,  but  some  of  her  friends  present 
understood  only  the  latter.  They  had  never  seen  Protes 
tant  worship  before ;  and,  when  we  kneeled  in  prayer,  they 
looked  round,  and,  seeing  no  images,  really  thought  at  first, 
I  believe,  that  we  were  worshipping  our  chairs.  However 
they  afterwards  appeared  gratified,  and  wondered  to  find 
us  so  religious  a  people,  Protestants  and  atheists  being 
synonymous  terms  with  them.  Not  long  ago  we  had  to 
marry  a  couple  in  French.  As  we  are  constantly  liable 
to  be  called  upon  to  perform  the  ceremony  in  various  lan 
guages,  we  concluded  it  best  to  prepare  a  form  in  these 
languages,  that  we  might  be  ready  for  any  emergency." 

To  a  stranger  visiting  Mohammedan  countries  few  inci 
dents  are  more  impressive  than  the  cry  from  the  minaret, 
calling  the  people  to  prayer  at  regular  periods  by  day  and 
during  the  night.  The  musical  voice  of  the  trained  muez 
zin,  the  liquid  intonations  of  the  Arabic  tongue,  together 
with  the  sentiments  expressed  in  the  call,  all  make  it  to  a 
reflecting  mind  seem  like  a  voice  from  heaven,  especially 
when  heard  in  the  stillness  of  night :  — 

"  Allah  ekber  !  Allah  ekber ! 
Esheden  en  la  Allah,  ilia  Allah,"  &c. 

"  God  is  great !  God  is  great ! 
I  testify  that  there  is  no  god  but  God. 
Come  to  peace  !  come  to  happiness  ! 
Come  to  the  garden  of  delights  ! 
God  is  great !  "  &c. 

Oi ,  as  it  is  sometimes  varied  at  night :  — 

"  God  is  great !  God  is  great ! 
Prayer  is  better  than  sleep,"  &c. 


THE   MUEZZIN.  147 

The  writer  of  these  memoirs  will  never  forget  the  im 
pression  made  by  this  call,  as  he  was  wakened  by  it  in  the 
dead  of  night,  on  the  plains  of  Sharon,  in  the  land  of 
Palestine.  And  once  again  these  words  seemed  still  more 
strikingly  appropriate  and  suggestive.  He  had  joined  a 
company  of  missionary  families  on  the  shores  of  the  Bos- 
phorus,  at  the  evening  twilight,  in  their  weekly  meeting 
for  social  Drayer.  In  the  few  moments  of  silence  that 


preceded    the    opening    exercises,   a    musical 
the  minaret  of  a  mosque   near  by  was  heard : 


immediat 
voice  fro 

"  God  is  great !  God  is  great !  Come  to  peace !  Come  to 
happiness !  Come  to  the  garden  of  delights  ! "  Could  any 
summons  be  more  appropriate  to  an  assemblage  of  Chris 
tians  met  to  draw  near  to  the  throne  of  the  heavenly  grace  ? 
It  was  near  this  same  spot  that  Mr.  Goodell  wrote,  Nov. 
15,  1832:  — 

"  Our  house  was  next  to  the  Turkish  mosque,  and  five 
times  a  day  did  the  white-turbaned  muezzin  ascend  the 
minaret  and  proclaim  the  hour  of  prayer.  The  infidel 
Greek,  whenever  he  could  put  his  head  out  of  sight,  never 
failed  to  burst  forth  into  contemptuous  merriment;  but  it 
seemed  to  be  a  call  to  me  to  come  boldly  to  the  throne  of 
grace  by  a  new  and  living  way,  of  which  the  Moslem  knows 
nothing,  and  thus  to  lift  up  my  heart  with  my  voice  unto 
God." 

In  the  year  1832,  Mr.  Goodell  was  permitted  to  welcome 
to  his  field  two  fellow-laborers,  who  became  literally  fellow- 
apostles  in  the  great  reformation  which  by  the  Gospel  and 
the  grace  of  God  was  wrought  among  the  nominal  Christians 
of  Turkey.  The  Rev.  H.  G.  O.  Dwight  (who  had  pre 
viously  made  an  extended  tour  of  exploration  in  Armenia  in 
company  with  Rev.  Eli  Smith)  arrived  at  Constantinople, 
with  Mrs.  Dwight,  on  the  5th  of  June.  His  mission  was  to 
the  Armenians.  The  Rev.  William  G.  Schauffler  arrived  on 
the  31st  of  July,  to  labor  among  the  Jews.  These  three 
families  for  a  long  time  occupied  the  same  house,  and  never 


148          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

was  one  family  more  perfectly  united  in  feeling  and  service. 
This  intimacy  of  fellowship  was  broken  off  only  by  the 
translation  of  Dr.  Dwight,  who  was  killed  on  a  railway  train 
in  1862,  while  on  a  visit  to  this  country.  Dr.  Schauffler 
still  survives,  an  active  and  efficient  worker  in  the  great 
cause  in  which  they  were  so  long  and  so  happily  engaged 
together. 


SUMMER    OF   TROUBLES.  149 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  summer  of  1832  was  one  of  trouble  and  anxiety 
at  the  Turkish  capital.  First  came  the  plague,  of 
which  we  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  more  particularly 
hereafter.  It  prevailed  in  its  most  fatal  form  in  the  imme 
diate  neighborhood  in  which  Mr.  Goodell  was  then  residing. 
He  wrote  at  the  time :  "  The  vials  of  the  wrath  of  God 
seem  to  be  poured  out  upon  this  country ;  and  though  the 
people  gnaw  their  tongues  for  pain,  yet  they  repent  not  of 
their  evil  deeds.  My  little  daughter  asks  whether  there  is 
any  plague  in  heaven,  for  it  says  in  the  Revelation,  '  Seven 
angels  had  the  seven  last  plagues.' "  After  the  plague,  the 
cholera  again  made  its  appearance,  and  prevailed  most  fatally 
at  Orta  Keuy,  the  village  to  which  Mr.  Goodell  had  removed 
in  August.  Many  of  his  neighbors  were  swept  away  by  it, 
and  he  himself  had  a  slight  attack. 

After  these  visitations  of  pestilence  came  rumors  of  war. 
The  ambitious  Viceroy  of  Egypt,  Mohammed  Ali,  having  ex 
terminated  the  Mamelukes  and  extended  his  conquests  in  Ara 
bia,  sent  an  army  into  Syria  under  command  of  his  adopted 
son,  Ibrahim  Pasha,  took  Acre  by  storm,  and  on  the  20th  of 
December,  1832,  gained  a  complete  victory  over  the  Turkish 
forces,  routing  the  entire  army  and  taking  the  grand  vizier 
prisoner.  When  the  news  of  these  events  reached  Constan 
tinople,  Mr.  Goodell  wrote  to  a  friend  :  — 

"January  1,  1833.  You  have  doubtless  heard  from  time 
to  time  of  the  successes  of  Ibrahim  Pasha.  The  grand 
vizier  is  now  his  prisoner,  and  the  whole  Turkish  army  is 


150  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

cut  to  pieces,  or  entirely  routed  ;  and  no  sort  of  obstacle  now 
remains  to  prevent  Ibrahim  Pasha  from  marching  directly 
to  Constantinople.  On  receiving  the  news  of  this  disaster, 
the  Sultan  in  his  great  rage,  it  is  said,  broke  one  of  the 
splendid  mirrors  of  his  palace ;  but  this  is  certainly  better 
than  to  break  men's  heads,  according  to  the  ancient  custom  of 
this  most  ungracious  government.  Halil,  who  was  Capudan 
Pasha  in  the  last  expedition,  has  been  despatched  as  envoy  ex 
traordinary,  or  rather  plenipotentiary,  to  the  court  of  Moham 
med  Ali  in  Egypt,  to  conclude  a  peace  on  as  good  terms  as 
possible.  He  sailed  on  the  7th  inst.,  in  the  corvette  which 
Mr.  Eckford  sold  to  the  Sultan  last  year.  A  Russian  brig-of- 
war  has  also  sailed  for  the  same  port,  having  on  board,  it  is 
said,  three  commissioners,  from  the  three  great  powers,  Eng 
land,  France,  and  Russia,  who  go  to  Egypt  for  the  benevo 
lent  purpose  of  giving  to  Halil  Pasha  their  countenance  and 
support,  and  to  Mohammed  Ali  their  counsel  and  advice,  un 
asked." 

On  the  21st  of  February  he  wrote  again:  "You  will 
doubtless  hear  that  this  place  is  likely  to  be  the  seat  of  war. 
Ibrahim  Pasha  is  close  by.  The  Russians  are  already  on  the 
march  for  Constantinople,  or  rather,  I  should  say,  twelve  men- 
of-war,  including  several  line-of -battle  ships,  have  already 
arrived  at  Buyuk  Dere ;  and  England  and  France  will  not 
be  idle  spectators.  You  will  be  able  to  form  some  idea  of 
the  feelings  of  the  divan  (council  of  government),  when 
I  tell  you  that  they  have  strictly  forbidden  any  person  in 
the  street  to  speak  with  his  neighbor  or  friend  of  the  weather, 
of  the  course  or  change  of  the  wind,  of  the  time  of  day,  of 
his  own  health,  or  of  that  of  anybody  else :  all  which,  strange 
as  it  may  seem,  is  actually  carried  into  effect;  and  we  are 
told  that  an  individual  in  this  village,  for  a  slight  and  un 
intentional  violation  of  the  order,  was  immediately  hurried 
off  to  the  bagnio.  Now  the  meaning,  or  hint  given,  is  simply 
this,  that  no  person  is  to  lisp  a  word  about  the  affairs  of 
government;  for  if  he  is  not  permitted  to  utter  a  syllable 
even  on  his  own  most  common  affairs,  how  shall  he  presume 
to  whisper,  or  even  to  think,  about  the  great  concerns  of  the 
vast  empire  of  mighty  Sultan  Mahmoud." 

Still  later  he  wrote :  "  Every  thing  continues  to  have  a 
warlike  appearance.  Notwithstanding  all  the  talk  of  peace 
which  we  occasionally  hear,  the  real  fact  is,  there  is  no  peace, 
nor  does  there  appear  to  be  any  probability  of  peace  at  pres- 


ST.    SIMONIANS.  151 

ent,  unless  it  be  a  good  large  piece  for  the  Russians  ;  they  are 
pouring  down  upon  us  every  day  from  the  North,  like  the 
Goths  and  Vandals  upon  Rome." 

The  apprehensions  of  an  attack  upon  the  capital  were  re 
moved  in  the  spring  of  1833  by  the  conclusion  of  a  treaty, 
in  which  the  Sultan  ceded  Syria  to  the  Viceroy. 

About  this  time  Constantinople  was  visited  by  a  band  of  mis 
sionaries  of  a  peculiar  type,  the  St.  Simonians  of  France,  who 
came  to  propagate  their  socialistic  views.  They  met  with  no 
success  or  encouragement.  No  record  is  made  of  their  arri 
val,  but  the  journal  of  Mr.  Goodell  contains  this  amusing 
account  of  their  departure:  — 

"April  24,  1833.  The  mission  of  the  St.  Simonians  was 
short,  and  as  unsuccessful  as  short.  Yestenlay  I  saw  them 
put,  by  order  of  the  Sultan,  on  board  a  small,  dirty,  open 
vessel  of  the  country  (such  as  is  used  to  carry  charcoal  or 
wood),  and  sent  to  the  Dardanelles,  the  pasha  of  that  place 
being  directed  to  send  them  forward,  and  put  them  on  shore 
somewhere  beyond  the  limits  of  the  empire.  Their  coming 
has  produced  a  prodigious  sensation  among  all  classes.  Not 
Ibrahim  and  all  his  conquests,  nor  the  presence  of  the  Rus 
sian  fleet,  with  all  the  uncertainty  hanging  over  the  subject 
of  their  departure,  have  produced  any  thing  like  it.  The 
Perotes,  in  particular,  will  now  have  subject-matter  of  con 
versation  for  a  whole  month  to  come ;  while  all  good  papists 
among  them  will  feel  bound  to  place  additional  candles 
before  the  Virgin,  in  token  of  their  gratitude  for  her  timely 
interference  in  saving  them  from  antichrist.  And  were  it 
not  for  ourselves,  they  might  now  hope  that  '  the  land  would 
have  rest  for  forty  years.' 

"  These  men,  it  is  said,  went  one  day  last  week  and  stood 
in  a  conspicuous  place  to  see  the  Sultan,  and,  when  he  passed 
along,  they  remained  like  statues,  not  showing  the  least  sign 
of  respect ;  but,  whenever  they  saw  a  female,  of  whatever 
age  or  of  whatever  nation,  they  would  run  to  her,  even  in 
sight  of  the  Sultan  himself,  throw  off  their  caps,  bow  down 
before  her,  gaze  upon  her  face,  and  compare  her  features 
with  the  model  of  female  beauty  they  had  in  their  hand,  in 
order  to  ascertain  whether  the  individual  they  had  accosted 
were  the  female  messiah.  Now,  you  know,  even  the  com- 


152  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

mon  Turks  do  not  consider  it  very  genteel,  to  say  the  least, 
for  strangers  to  take  such  liberties  with  their  wives  and 
daughters.  And  the  high  Sultan  was  so  indignant  to  see  them 
give  to  the  harem,  of  his  subjects  that  honor  which  he  con 
siders  due  to  him  alone,  and  give  it,  too,  in  a  manner  which 
would  shock  common  decency  even  in  civilized  countries, 
where  woman  is  accustomed  to  receive  attention,  that  he 
ordered  them  to  be  arrested  and  thrown  into  prison. 

"  A  multitude  of  people  of  all  nations  were  assembled  to 
see  them  off.  The  Turkish  guard  offered  them  no  abuse, 
nor  did  they  allow  any  others  to  insult  them.  The  Turks 
carried  their  baggage  on  board  with  as  much  gravity 
as  they  would  charcoal,  and  the  prisoners,  thirteen  in  all, 
walked  out  two  and  two  and  embarked.  They  were  all 
dressed  in  livery,  having  red  pantaloons  fitting  as  tight  to  the 
legs  as  their  skin  ;  neat  boots,  reaching  hali-way  up  to  the 
knee ;  a  sort  of  Albanian  petticoat,  though  much  less  full 
and  much  shorter,  not  reaching  half-way  down  to  the  knee ; 
a  girdle  round  the  waist ;  black  cloaks  thrown  over  their 
shoulders  and  tied  before  ;  red,  three-cornered  caps  on  their 
heads  ;  their  beards  long  ;  and  their  hair,  like  that  of  Nazar- 
ites,  hanging  over  their  shoulders.  They  were  all  young 
men,  with  interesting  countenances,  and  they  appeared  per 
fectly  at  their  ease. 

"  After  they  were  gone,  I  asked  the  captain  of  the  port, 
from  whose  office  they  had  just  been  conveyed  on  board, 
4  Who  were  these  singular-looking  men  you  have  been  send 
ing  away  ? '  He  replied,  *  They  are  Frenchmen,  whose 
father  is  imprisoned  in  Paris,  and  who  came  here  to  look 
round  in  our  harems  for  their  mother.'  They  certainly  dis 
played  great  ignorance  of  the  customs  of  the  country,  and  a 
great  want  of  common  sense,  to  say  no  more  ;  but  when  men 
'  turn  away  their  ears  from  the  truth,  and  are  turned  into 
fables,'  what  can  be  expected  but  that,  like  '  wicked  men  and 
seducers,  they  should  wax  worse  and  worse,  deceiving  and 
being  deceived.'  They  are  called  missionaries  by  the  people 
here,  which  is,  of  course,  not  much  to  our  honor.  Yester 
day  I  was  in  a  store  at  Pera,  and  heard  several  persons  con 
versing  about  the  imprisonment  of  these  thirteen.  I  told 
them  I  had  understood  that  there  were  twenty-four  of  them 
in  all.  '  No,'  replied  a  fiippant  clerk,  whom  I  took  to  be  a 
papal  Armenian,  *  there  are  only  thirteen  of  these ;  the 
Americans  at  Orta  Keuy  are  bashkah,'  i.e.,  not  the  same  ; 


TUEKISH    ETIQUETTE.  153 

different.     Some  of  those  present  must,  I  think,  have  known 
that  I  belonged  to  the  bashkah  ;  but  they  said  nothing." 

At  that  period,  and  for  many  years  later,  the  most  absurd 
forms  of  respect  for  the  Sultan  were  exacted  from  foreigners, 
as  well  as  from,  the  subjects  of  the  Sublime  Porte.  No  on^ 
was  allowed  to  ride  in  passing  the  palace  of  the  Sultan  ;  all 
must  dismount  and  walk,  and  this,  too,  whether  the  palace 
was  occupied  or  not.  Even  in  passing  the  palace  on  the 
Bosphorus  in  a  boat,  parties  were  rigidly  required  to  lower 
their  umbrellas,  no  matter  how  furiously  the  sun  or  the  rain 
might  be  beating  upon  them.  Nothing  could  justify  such  a 
breach  of  etiquette  as  keeping  an  umbrella  or  parasol  spread. 
The  Turks  generally  were  extremely  fanatical  in  their  no 
tions.  Green  was  claimed  as  sacred  to  the  descendants  of 
Mohammed ;  and  a  Frank  lady  would  at  any  time  be  liable 
to  be  stoned  if  she  were  seen  in  the  street  wearing  a  green 
veil,  or  any  other  article  of  dress  of  this  color.  Mr.  Goodell 
makes  mention  of  these  absurd  requisitions  :  — • 

"  The  Sultan  is  spending  the  winter  in  the  village  next 
below  us  on  the  Bosphorus  ;  and  when  we  pass  by  his  palace, 
if  on  horseback,  we  have  to  dismount  and  walk  by  ;  if  with 
an  umbrella  over  our  heads,  we  have  to  close  it.  Yesterday 
in  passing  we  dismounted  without  waiting  for  orders  to  do  so. 
To-day  one  of  us  on  foot  in  the  rain  was  ordered  to  close  his 
umbrella.  But  if  the  Sultan  is  not  ashamed  to  give  such 
orders,  why  need  we  be  ashamed  to  comply  with  them  ? 
Whenever  it  is  not  too  inconvenient,  however,  we,  as  well  as 
all  other  Franks,  take  another  road,  wishing  his  highness  no 
greater  humiliation  than  bowing  the  knee  to  Jesus,  and  con 
fessing  Him  to  be  Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father." 

The  letter  which  follows,  although  written  more  than  forty 
years  ago,  has  not  been  superseded  in  interest,  especially  in 
the  analysis  which  it  gives  of  Turkish  character  and  life,  by 
the  notes  of  any  of  the  numerous  travellers  who  have  visited 
that  part  of  the  world  in  later  years.  It  was  addressed  to 
Sidney  E.  Morse,  Esq.,  then  senior  editor  of  the  "  New  York 
Observer,"  who  had  been  his  fellow-student  at  Andover :  — 
7* 


154          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

OUT  A  KEUY  (Constantinople),  Oct.  17,  1832. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER  :  —  I  have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt 
of  the  "  New  York  Observer,"  which  you  have  had  the  kind 
ness  to  forward  regularly  to  me  for  some  time  past.  We 
read  every  number  with  lively  interest,  rejoicing  at  the  un 
exampled  prosperity  which  God  has  given  to  our  country, 
and  especially  at  the  numberless  spiritual  blessings  which  He 
has  graciously  bestowed  upon  it,  —  blessings  which  have 
scarcely  a  parallel  in  the  whole  history  of  the  church. 

There  is  but  little  in  this  part  of  the  Old  World  that  looks 
like  the  industry,  virtue,  thrift,  enterprise,  rising  greatness, 
and  moral  dignity  of  your  part  of  the  New.  A  striking  trait 
in  the  character  of  the  Turks,  as  you  probably  know,  is  in 
dolence.  They  seem,  in  general,  to  have  almost  a  mortal  an 
tipathy  to  labor  and  to  the  exertion  of  muscular  strength, 
and  even  to  masculine  exercises,  except  such  as  they  take  on 
horseback  and  in  the  use  of  arms.  Hence  they  neglect  agri 
culture  ;  and  large  tracts  of  most  fertile  and  beautiful  coun 
try  are  left  comparatively  a  desert.  Their  manufactures,  too, 
are  generally  in  a  languishing  state ;  and  all  the  instruments, 
utensils,  and  machines  they  ever  use  in  doing  any  thing  are 
for  the  most  part  as  few,  as  simple,  and  as  rude  as  can  well 
be  imagined. 

But  the  Turkish  character  is  not  altogether  a  compound  of 
ignorance,  grossness,  barbarism,  and  ferocity,  as  it  has  been 
sometimes  represented,  for  they  have  certainly  some  redeem 
ing  qualities.  As  a  nation,  they  are  temperate  and  very  fru 
gal.  They  make  much  less  use  of  animal  food  than  is  common 
with  ourselves ;  and  it  is  only  within  a  few  years  that  they 
have  begun  in  some  places  to  transgress  the  laws  of  their 
prophet  by  indulging  in  wine.  They  are  hospitable,  but  cer 
emonious  ;  very  easy  and  dignified  in  their  manners,  but,  if 
report  be  true,  vicious  and  beastly  in  their  habits  ;  extremely 
kind  to  their  domestics,  and  especially  to  their  slaves ;  exer 
cising  unbounded  benevolence  towards  the  whole  canine  race, 
and  not  unfrequently  a  moderate  degree  towards  some  of  their 
fellow-men  ;  but  furious  in  anger,  and  in  executing  vengeance 
on  their  enemies,  terrible.  They  are  much  inclined  to  super 
stition,  and,  in  general,  attend  strictly  to  the  externals  of  their 
religion.  Their  natural  gravity  and  taciturnity  give  them,  in 
the  view  of  strangers,  the  appearance  of  being  haughty  and  dis 
dainful  ;  and,  indeed,  they  have  a  lofty  national  pride,  which  is 
in  some  instances  so  prominent  as  to  be  extremely  offensive. 


A   CIRCUMCISION.  155 

But,  after  all,  there  is  something  in  the  Turkish  character 
which  I  always  admire ;  and  I  have  frequently  made  the  re 
mark  that,  should  they  be  brought  under  the  influence  of  the 
Gospel,  they  would,  to  my  taste,  be  the  most  interesting  of  all 
the  Orientals.  Their  gardens  are  retired  and  romantic,  their 
dwellings  are  distinguished  for  simplicity  and  quietness,  and 
the  stork  loves  to  come  and  build  his  nest  on  their  chimneys. 
Their  children  have  fine  healthy  countenances,  and  are  in 
general  neatly  dressed  and  well-behaved,  —  the  girls  being 
modest  and  retiring,  and  the  boys  manly,  but  not  rude.  It 
is  very  rare  to  see  them  boxing  or  hooting  in  the  streets  ;  in 
deed,  I  do  not  recollect  to  have  ever  seen  an  instance  of  the 
kind.  A  stranger  to  our  athletic  and  boisterous  sports,  to 
our  more  effeminate  exercise  of  dancing,  or  to  the  bustle  and 
conviviality  of  our  social  circles,  the  Turk  reclines  on  his  soft 
cushions  with  all  composure ;  partakes  of  his  pilaff  and  his, 
in  general,  vegetable  fare,  with  few  words  and  little  cere 
mony  ;  smokes  in  silence  the  mild  tobacco  of  Syria,  or  the 
still  milder  tombecky  of  Persia ;  regales  himself  at  short  in 
tervals  by  sipping  the  superior  coffee  of  Moka;  troubles 
himself  little  with  politics,  and,  if  possible,  still  less  about  the 
weather ;  is  easily  reconciled  by  the  doctrine  of  fate  to  all 
the  calamities  that  may  befall  his  neighbors  or  his  country ; 
knows  nothing  of  hypochondria  ;  and,  if  he  wishes  any  ex 
citement,  the  Jews  arid  Greek?  will  do  any  thing  for  money 
to  amuse  him,  or  he  has  only  to  take  a  few  grains  of  opium, 
and  he  is  at  once  in  an  ecstasy. 

Our  families  recently  had  an  invitation,  with  Commodore 
Porter,  to  attend  the  circumcision  of  Ali  Bey's  eldest  son,  — 
a  ceremony  which  a  Frank  or  a  Christian  has  very  seldom 
an  opportunity  of  witnessing.  Ali  Bey  resides  at  Kady  Koy, 
the  ancient  Chalcedon ;  and  he  is  a  near  and  a  good  neighbor 
of  our  Charge  d'affaires,  who,  besides  ourselves,  was  the  only 
Frank  present  on  the  occasion.  He  is  of  the  higher  class  of 
Turks ;  and,  holding  an  important  office  under  government 
for  many  years,  he  has  acquired  both  wealth  and  renown. 
The  poor  among  the  dogs  lie  down  at  his  gate,  and  look  up 
to  him  for  protection  and  support ;  and  the  birds  of  the  air 
build  their  nests  in  his  salam/uk,  or  room  for  receiving  com 
pany,  where  they  lay  their  eggs  and  rear  their  young  with 
out  molestation. 

His  son  was  an  interesting  youth,  of  a  fine  form  and  coun 
tenance,  pleasing  manners,  richly  dressed,  and  adorned  with 


156  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

various  ornaments  of  diamond  and  pearl.  He  was  thirteen 
years  of  age,  which  is  a  later  period  than  usual  for  the  per 
formance  of  the  rite ;  for  up  to  this  time  they  are  considered 
as  belonging  to  the  harem,  —  the  hair  of  their  head  is  suffered 
to  grow,  and  is  plaited  by  the  women  with  much  neatness ; 
but  after  this  time  their  head  is  shaved,  according  to  Turkish 
usage,  and  they  are  taken  from  the  women's  apartments,  and 
admitted  only  to  the  society  of  men.  Two  other  boys  from 
families  in  the  neighborhood  were  to  have  been  introduced 
into  man's  estate  at  the  same  time,  but  the  courage  of  one  of 
them  failed  him,  and,  when  the  moment  came,  the  rogue 
took  to  his  heels  and  ran  away,  and  did  not  show  his  face 
again  till  li€i  was  assured  he  could  do  it  with  safety. 

Ali  Bey  invited  all  his  friends  and  acquaintance,  and  made 
a  great  feast.  The  guests  were  numerous  ;  and,  as  we  arrived 
at  half-past  ten  o'clock,  A.M.,  and  did  not  leave  till  five  o'clock, 
P.M.,  we  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  much  of  Turkish  man 
ners.  Ali  Bey  conducted  himself  with  great  dignity  and  pro 
priety,  manifesting  no  levity,  nor  giving  utterance  to  an  idle 
or  unnecessary  word,  showing  much  affection  and  tenderness 
for  his  children,  and  appearing  to  consult  the  comfort  and 
happiness  of  his  friends.  Many  of  his  guests  were  equally 
courteous  and  dignified ;  and,  indeed,  almost  every  one  main 
tained  a  decorum,  both  of  speech  and  behavior,  which  it  would 
be  well  for  some  who  boast  of  their  superior  civilization  to 
imitate.  I  was  amused  and  gratified  to  see  the  spirit  of  equal 
ity  that  seemed  to  animate  them  all :  the  poor  and  the  rich 
met  together ;  the  slave  sat  down  in  the  presence  of  his  mas 
ter  ;  and  every  one  that  entered  received  a  salaam  from  one 
and  another  all  round  the  room,  which  he  returned  with  the 
same  easy  and  graceful  manner  with  which  it  was  given,  and 
with  the  same  apparent  consciousness  of  being  a  man  among 
men. 

But,  though  they  did  not  condescend  to  be  foolish  them 
selves,  yet,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  Ali  Bey  hired  others  to  play 
the  fool  for  them.  1  say  nothing  now  of  their  music,  except 
that  it  is  always  rude,  nor  of  the  sentiments  of  their  songs, 
except  that  in  most  cases  it  is  well  that  so  few  of  the  words 
can  be  even  understood,  from  the  barbarous  manner  of  sing 
ing  ;  but  three  paltry  Jews,  occasionally  relieving  the  musi 
cians,  endeavored  to  amuse  the  company  by  a  variety  of 
artful  tricks  and  ridiculous  pranks,  now  practising  legerde 
main,  and  now  exhibiting  the  most  antic  gestures  and  postures, 


TURKISH   DINNER.  157 

accompanied  with  low  jests.  Indeed,  they  were  jugglers  and 
buffoons,  and  one  of  them  personated  folly  to  perfection.  As 
the  company  were  introduced  from  one  apartment  of  the  house 
to  another,  they  had  in  every  room  the  musicians  to  entertain 
them  with  song,  or  the  Jews  with  sleight  of  hand  and  vul 
garity.  The  Turks  did  not  seem  transported  by  either  the 
one  or  the  other,  but  looked  on  with  all  the  gravity  becoming 
sages  ;  and,  when  they  had  smoked  out  one  cfiibook,  the  slaves 
brought  them  another. 

The  principal  room  in  the  harem  was  the  one  appropriated 
to  the  ceremony  which  was  to  be  performed,  and  it  was 
elegantly  furnished  for  the  occasion.  Cashmere  shawls  and 
other  drapery  of  great  beauty  and  value  were  hung  tastefully 
round  the  walls,  and  a  superb  couch  for  the  son,  with  a  suita 
ble  one  for  the  other  two  boys,  was  fitted  up  at  one  end,  with 
hangings  enriched  with  various  devices  in  diamonds  and  bril 
liants,  and  a  garlick  withal,  suspended  from  the  centre,  to  keep 
off  the  evil  eye.  Whenever  we  entered  this  sanctum  sanc 
torum  of  Ali  Bey's  tabernacle,  his  wives,  of  which  he  has 
several,  retired  with  their  female  friends  and  attendants  to 
an  adjoining  apartment,  where  through  the  lattice,  or,  as  it 
might  very  properly  be  called,  the  jealousy  windows,  they 
could  see  us  and  every  thing  that  transpired,  without  expos 
ing  their  own  charms  to  the  profane  gaze  of  any  but  their 
husband.  We  could  just  perceive  their  moving  forms  with 
great  indistinctness.  But  a  little  daughter,  perhaps  six  years 
old,  dressed  in  the  long,  rich,  and  splendid  robes  of  the  Orien 
tals,  and  certainly  a  child  of  singular  sweetness  and  modesty, 
was  present  most  of  the  time,  as  also  a  little  girl  of  about 
the  same  age  from  another  family. 

We  dined  at  four  o'clock,  P.M.  ;  and,  fbr  at  least  an  hour 
before  this,  portions  were  sent  to  the  needy,  —  not  the  frag 
ments,  or  the  refuse,  as  is  the  custom  with  us,  but  whole 
plates  of  pilaff  and  other  savory  dishes,  of  which  none  of  the 
guests,  hungry  as  we  all  were,  had  yet  been  permitted  to  taste. 
One  table  was  prepared  a  la  Frank  for  the  Commodore  arid 
his  friends,  and  Ali  Bey  and  a  brother  of  the  last  Reis 
Effendi  sat  down  with  us ;  when,  according  to  our  custom,  we 
implored  the  blessing  of  our  Father  in  heaven  upon  our  food 
and  upon  all  our  brethren  of  the  human  family,  in  the  name  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  The  food  was  excellent 
and  abundant ;  soup  and  pilaff ;  flesh,  fish,  and  fowl,  cooked 
in  various  ways ;  different  kinds  of  jelly ;  and  almost  every 


158          FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

kind  of  fruit.  The  table  was  also  furnished  with  wine,  of 
which  AH  Bey  and  his  brother  Turk  drank  as  freely  as  any 
other  person  at  the  table  ;  and,  indeed,  the  latter  of  the  two 
manifested  a  fondness  for  it  which  I  was  not  gratified  in 
seeing,  as  he  seemed  to  me  to  be  in  danger  of  exchanging 
one  of  the  best  virtues  known  in  Turkey,  viz.,  temperance, 
for  one  of  the  worst  vices  prevalent  in  Christendom,  viz.,  in 
temperance.  He  begged  the  Commodore  to  send  six  bottles  of 
wine  to  his  brother,  the  late  Reis  Effendi,  who  now  resides  at 
Kandeli,  in  the  house  where  the  exchange  of  ratifications  of  our 
treaty  with  the  Sublime  Porte  took  place  a  year  ago.  This  man 
was  treated  by  all  with  marked  attention  and  respect.  He 
appeared  to  possess  a  good  share  of  intelligence,  and  I  had 
a  pleasant  conversation  with  him  about  America  and  its  cus 
toms.  He  at  first  expressed  the  opinion  that  we  were  to  be 
pitied  in  being  confined  to  one  wife ;  but,  on  my  telling  him 
that  ours  could  read  and  write,  and  enlarging  on  the  ten 
thousand  other  good  qualities  they  are  allowed  to  possess,  he  at 
length  acknowledged  that  one  good  wife  was  worth  a  dozen 
poor  ones,  and  that,  in  this  respect  as  well  as  many  others, 
the  people  of  Turkey  were,  to  use  his  own  expression,  barba 
rians  and  brutes.  His  daughter  is  espoused  to  Ali  Bey's 
eldest  son,  —  perhaps  the  same  little  girl  we  saw  in  company 
with  Ali  Bey's  daughter. 

Though  urged  by  our  host  and  his  friends  to  spend  the 
evening,  and  even  the  night,  to  witness  some  theatrical  ex 
hibitions,  we  left  immediately  after  dinner.  On  returning 
home,  I  could  not  but  reflect  that  those  people,  in  common 
with  ourselves,  belong  to  the  race  that  has  rebelled  against 
their  Maker ;  and  that  like  ourselves  they  need  "  the  grace  of 
God,  which  bringeth  salvation,  teaching  them  that,  deny 
ing  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,  they  should  live  soberly, 
righteously,  and  godly  in  this  present  world."  And  assuredly 
the  time  will  come  when  these  followers  of  the  false  prophet 
shall  be  enlightened  by  the  True  Prophet,  and,  forsaking 
their  delusions,  shall  be  "  looking  for  that  blessed  hope,  and 
the  glorious  appearing  of  the  great  God  and  our  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ."  Let  us  pray  and  labor  that  the  day  may  be 
soon  ushered  in. 

With  Christian  and  affectionate  salutations, 

Yours  truly, 

W.    GOODELL. 


ORDINATION    OF   PRIESTS.  159 

Having  been  invited  to  be  present  at  the  ordination  of 
fifteen  priests  at  the  Armenian  patriarchal  church  at  Con 
stantinople,  Mr.  Goodell  gives  the  following  account  of  their 
induction  into  office :  — 

"  September  7,  1833.  It  is  a  rule  or  custom  with  the 
Armenians  that  the  newly  made  priests  must  remain  in  the 
church  forty  days  and  forty  nights,  without  once  going  out,  and 
without  once  putting  off  any  of  their  priestly  garments,  arid 
must  during  all  this  time  practise  the  most  severe  abstinence, 
and  keep  reading  over  and  over  the  Psalter  and  the  ritual  of 
the  church ;  and  also  that  their  wives  must  be  muffled  up,  or 
rather  literally  sewed  up,  in  cloaks  and  other  heavy  prescribed 
garments,  and  must  remain  during  all  these  forty  days  and 
nights  at  home,  in  a  darkened  room,  not  being  allowed  to 
taste  any  pleasant  food,  nor  indeed  much  of  any  kind,  and 
not  having  it  in  their  power  to  divest  themselves  of  a  single 
article  of  their  clothing,  nor  even  to  loosen  a  stitch  for  the 
sake  of  brushing  away  the  vermin,  however  much  they  may 
be  teased  by  the  accumulation  of  a  variety  of  the  little  tor 
mentors.  Hohannes  suggested  to  Peshtimaljian  that  there 
was  much  discomfort,  not  to  say  discredit,  in  all  this,  while 
there  was  no  use  whatever ;  and  the  latter,  who  is  decidedly 
the  most  learned  man  we  have  seen  in  the  country,  and  who 
is  very  liberal  in  his  views,  and  a  great  friend  to  us,  went  im 
mediately  to  the  Synod,  and  induced  them  to  dispense  en 
tirely  with  every  thing  that  related  to  the  poor  wives,  leaving 
them  at  liberty  to  go  out  and  come  in,  attend  to  their  families 
and  enjoy  the  comforts  of  life,  as  at  other  times.  Their  hus 
bands,  too,  have  been  permitted  to  change  their  linen ;  and  in 
stead  of  saying  the  church  service  over  and  over,  a  thousand 
times  repeated,  they  are  permitted,  or  rather  required,  to  spend 
part  of  the  time  in  studying  the  Gospel.  May  they  therein 
learn  how  to  become  able  ministers  of  the  New  Testament ! 
And  may  they  thereby  be  taught  that  '  the  letter  killeth,  but 
the  Spirit  giveth  life ! '  We  were  taken  to  see  some  of  them 
in  the  church  when  their  forty  days  were  about  half  expired 
and  their  beards  had  begun  to  grow.  They  approached  and 
kissed  our  hands,  and  I  implored  for  them  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Spirit." 

One  of  these  priests,  Der  Kevork,  who  was  evidently  much 
affected  at  the  time  by  the  supplication  offered  by  the  mis- 


160          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

sionary  on  his  behalf,  afterward  became  an  earnest  preacher 
of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  Although  he  never  formally 
left  the  Armenian  church,  he  exerted  a  powerful  influence 
in  promoting  the  wonderful  revival  and  work  of  true  religion 
among  his  people,  which  took  place  a  very  few  years  later. 
Other  native  laborers  also  gathered  gradually  around  the 
standard  of  the  cross. 

When  Mr.  Goodell  reached  Constantinople,  in  183.1,  a 
young  Greek,  Panayotes  Constantinides,  called  to  see  him, 
and  gave  him  an  unexpected  welcome.  He  was  a  book-] 
binder,  employed  by  the  Turks  in  the  Mussulman  quarter  of 
the  city ;  but  from  intercourse  with  an  English  clergyman, 
who  had  spent  a  few  weeks  at  Constantinople,  he  had  become 
interested  in  the  truth,  and  gave  evidence  of  being  a  sincere 
Christian.  It  was  not  long  before  he  ceased  attending  the 
services  of  the  Greek  Church,  and  cast  in  his  lot  with  the 
missionaries.  He  was  a  good  Turkish  as  well  as  Greek 
scholar,  and  was  familiar  with  Turkish  literature.  This  man 
seemed  to  have  been  raised  up  by  Providence  for  an  impor 
tant  work  in  connection  with  the  American  mission.  He 
became  at  once  a  valuable  assistant  to  Mr.  Goodell  in  the 
schools  and  in  the  work  of  translation.  He  was  subsequently 
licensed  to  preach ;  and  continued  to  be  a  faithful  helper  to 
the  day  of  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1861.  Of  his  valu 
able  labors  mention  will  be  made,  in  connection  with  his 
death,  in  a  subsequent  chapter.  As  he  had  occasion  to  go 
out  at  one  time  in  missionary  service,  Mr.  Goodell  gave  him 
the  following  unique  passport  or  letter  of  introduction :  — 

"  KYRIOS  PANAYOTES, 

"  My  translator,  dragoman,  counsellor,  and  helper,  aged  thirty- 
seven  years,  having  a  wife  and  three  children,  and  weighing 
about  two  hundred  and  eighty  pounds  (Turkish),  is  a  fine 
Turkish  and  Greek  scholar,  having  some  acquaintance  also 
with  the  English,  Armenian,  and  Hebrew,  together  with  all 
their  cognates ;  but,  above  all,  is  a  great  lover  of  the  truth, 
and  of  all  good  men,  being  (  an  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom  is 


REMARKABLE   CONVERSIONS.  161 

no  guile ; '  and  he  will,  I  doubt  not,  hereafter  '  eat  of  the 
tree  of  life,  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  paradise  of  God.' 
Amen.  "  As  witness  my  hand, 

"  W.   GOODELL." 

Not  long  after,  Mr.  Goodell  was  visited  by  two  young 
Armenians,  Hohannes  Sehakyan  and  Senakerim,  who  came 
with  an  evident  and  earnest  desire  to  have  "  the  way  of  God 
expounded  unto  them  more  perfectly."  They  had  been  for 
several  years  under  the  instruction  of  Peshtimaljian,  an 
enlightened  Armenian,  and  one  who,  before  the  advent  of 
the  missionary,  had  given  much  evidence  of  being  taught  by 
the  Holy  Spirit.  These  young  men,  like  Nicodemus,  came 
by  night,  and  often,  week  after  week,  to  converse  upon  the 
word  of  God,  and  to  read  it  in  a  language  with  which  they 
were  familiar.  Both  subsequently  came  to  the  United  States, 
and  spent  several  years  in  study,  to  qualify  themselves  for 
usefulness  among  their  countrymen  in  Turkey.  In  July, 
1833,  they  formally  gave  themselves  up  to  the  guidance  of 
the  missionaries,  affording  at  the  same  time  pleasing  evidence 
that  they  had  already  submitted  themselves  to  the  teachings 
and  devoted  themselves  to  the  service  of  the  great  Master. 
Senakerim  was  employed  by  the  mission,  and  was  immedi 
ately  useful  in  the  work  of  translation.  Hohannes  was 
placed  at  the  head  of  a  school  of  a  higher  grade,  established 
for  Armenian  youth. 

Their  conversion  produced  great  excitement  among  the 
priests,  and  awakened  no  little  alarm  among  the  people. 
The  Armenian  bankers  and  merchants  were  more  influential, 
even  in  ecclesiastical  affairs,  than  the  ecclesiastics  themselves, 
and  had  a  controlling  influence  in  matters  which  in  some 
other  parts  would  be  decided  entirely  by  the  priests.  When 
the  defection  of  these  two  promising  young  men  became 
known,  a  wealthy  Armenian  jeweller,  of  great  respectability 
and  influence,  instigated,  as  was  afterward  learned,  by  a 
Romish  priest,  attempted  to  stir  up  an  excitement.  The 
school  of  Hohannes  was  closed  by  clerical  interference.  The 


162  FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

jeweller  also  endeavored  to  obtain  ecclesiastical  action  that 
should  deter  others  from  following  the  example  of  these 
youth.  He  went  to  their  former  teacher,  and  preferred 
charges  against  them,  as  having  been  bribed  by  foreigners  to 
take  a  stand  against  their  own  people,  and  for  having  adopted 
pestilent  heresies. 

The  accused  were  summoned  before  Peshtimaljiau,  and 
the  accuser,  with  no  little  violence  of  manner  and  great  bit 
terness  of  spirit,  proceeded  to  support  his  charges.  The 
young  men  were  about  to  vindicate  themselves,  when  Peshti- 
maljian  prevented  them  by  spreading  before  the  astonished 
jeweller  such  a  mass  of  evidence  from  the  Holy  Scriptures 
and  from  history  in  favor  of  the  evangelical  doctrines  they 
had  embraced,  and  in  opposition  to  the  heartless  mummeries 
and  the  idolatrous  practices  of  his  own  church,  that  the  man 
was  utterly  confounded.  Hohannes  and  Senakerim  also 
helped  to  pour  light  upon  his  mind  ;  and  the  result  was  that 
the  jeweller  was  convinced  of  his  own  errors,  and  became  an 
open  and  powerful  advocate  of  the  pure  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel.  Another  Armenian,  Sarkis  Varjabed,  also  re 
nounced  his  errors,  and  became  a  useful  assistant  to  the 
missionaries  in  the  work  of  translation.  Thus  God  raised 
up  helpers  to  carry  on  His  work. 

The  year  1834  was  ushered  in  with  manifest  tokens  of  the 
divine  presence,  of  which  Mr.  Goodell  wrote,  under  date  of 
February  1  :  — 

"  Our  weekly  service  in  Turkish,  which  is  attended  statedly 
by  half  a  dozen  Armenians  and  a  few  Greeks,  had  all  along 
been  increasing  in  solemnity  and  interest.  Kyrios  Panayotes, 
of  the  latter  nation,  appeared  to  be  growing  in  grace  ;  and  Sena 
kerim  and  Hohannes,  of  the  former,  to  be  getting  more  and 
more  under  the  influence  of  truth  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
We  felt  prepared  to  go  a  step  farther ;  and  the  first  monthly 
concert  season  in  the  year  1834  we  observed  in  Turkish,  as 
well  as  in  English.  This  is  probably  the  first  time  the 
monthly  concert  for  prayer  was  ever  observed  in  that  lan 
guage.  Kyrios  Panayotes  made  one  of  the  prayers,  and 


MONTHLY   CONCERT.  163 

from  one  of  our  Greek  tracts,  printed  at  Malta,  he  gave  in 
Turkish  an  interesting  account  of  Obookiah,  and  of  the  com 
mencement  of  the  mission  at  the  Sandwich  Islands.  Every 
ear  seemed  to  be  open,  every  eye  to  be  moistened,  and 
every  voice  that  uttered  a  syllable  was  in  a  tender  and  sub 
dued  tone.  One  of  the  Armenians  then  gave  an  extract 
from  a  sermon  which  was  preached  by  their  patriarch  in 
Constantinople,  a  day  or  two  previous,  and  which  had  given 
them  much  satisfaction.  The  following  is  the  substance  of 
the  extract:  Those  Christians  who  love  the  Gospel  have 
caused  it  to  be  translated  and  printed  in  every  language ; 
and  all,  even  the  heathen  nations,  are  now  beginning  to  read 
it.  Let  us,  therefore,  see  to  it  that  we  conform  ourselves  to 
its  precepts,  lest  those  who  have  but  just  received  it  should 
point  at  us  and  reproach  us  with  neglecting  the  duties  it 
enjoins,  and  we  should  thus  give  occasion  to  them  to  blas 
pheme.  This  was  truly  monthly  concert  intelligence,  and 
was  as  cheering  as  it  was  unexpected. 

"  After  the  Turkish,  we  had  our  usual  English  service  for 
the  occasion.  Our  little  company  represented  six  nations 
and  six  churches.  One  was  a  Baptist  brother,  the  master  of 
an  English  vessel  now  in  this  port,  and  a  man  of  intelligence 
and  serious  piety.  The  day  previous  he  had  united  with  us 
in  celebrating  the  Lord's  Supper,  feeling  that  in  doing  it, 
though  he  had  acted  contrary  to  the  rules  of  his  church,  he 
had  acted  in  strict  conformity  to  the  rules  of  the  Gospel : 
*  Receive  ye  one  another,  as  Christ  also  received  us.' 

"  Senakerim's  heart  was  now  full,  and  he  could  no  longer 
restrain  his  feelings,  but  with  most  animated  countenance 
and  an  earnest  manner,  and  with  tears  now  and  then  gushing 
from  his  eyes,  he  gave  an  interesting  account  of  his  and 
Hohannes'  experience,  and  of  the  way  in  which  Providence 
had  led  them  and  brought  them  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth. 
During  the  remainder  of  the  month  we  had  frequent  pre 
cious  intercourse  with  these  young  brethren.  Sometimes 
their  hearts  were  filled  with  darkness  and  sorrow,  and  their 
heads  bowed  down  like  a  bulrush,  and  they  came  to  us,  and 
with  the  docility  of  little  children  inquired  concerning  pardon 
and  salvation  through  atoning  blood.  At  one  of  our  meet 
ings,  it  devolved  upon  Senakerim  while  in  this  state  of  mind 
to  read  the  following  verse  :  '  And  she  said,  Truth,  Lord  ; 
yet  the  dogs  eat  of  the  crumbs  which  fall  from  their  master's 
table.'  It  seemed  to  express  the  very  feelings  of  his  own 


1G4          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

heart,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  he  could  finish  the  sentence, 
owing  to  the  tender  emotions  which  were  awakened  by  it  in 
his  bosom,  and  which  were  struggling  for  utterance.  Both 
he  and  his  companion  appear  now  to  be  filled  with  light  and 
love  and  comfort  and  zeal.  They  lay  hold  of  the  divine 
promises,  and  plead  them  in  a  manner  quite  unusual ;  and, 
like  Peter,  they  seem  ready  to  go  to  prison  and  to  death, 
though,  like  him  and  like  most  young  converts,  they  doubt 
less  have  much  less  genuine  faith  than  they  think  they  have. 
A  few  storms,  such  as  we  have  in  these  countries,  will  give 
it  a  trial." 

In  company  with  Commodore  Porter  and  Commodore 
Patterson,  of  the  frigate  "  United  States,"  Mr.  Goodell  was 
invited  to  visit  the  new  summer  palace  of  the  Sultan  at  Bey- 
lerbey,  near  Scutari,  where  they  were  received  and  treated 
with  the  utmost  attention.  Mr.  Goodell  writes  :  — 

"March  3,  1834.  It  was  gratifying  to  us  as  Americans  to 
see  the  respect  in  which  our  country  is  held  by  the  Ottoman 
government.  The  high  officers  of  the  empire  seemed  to  vie 
with  each  other  in  doing  honor  to  it.  And,  indeed,  how 
could  it  be  otherwise  when  the  grand  seignior  himself  set  the 
example  ?  Namik  Pasha,  who  has  command  at  Scutari,  had 
been  appointed  by  the  Sultan  to  conduct  the  party  through 
the  palace  and  the  gardens,  and  this  he  did  with  the  polite 
ness  which  characterizes  many  of  the  present  race  of  Turks 
at  Constantinople.  As  we  retired,  he  asked  me  to  visit  the 
Turkish  Lancasterian  schools  as  often  as  I  thought  proper, 
and  to  make  such  suggestions  as  might  seem  to  me  necessary. 
Both  Commodore  Patterson  and  Commodore  Porter  visited 
the  schools  at  Dolma  Baktche  and  Scutari,  and  expressed 
themselves  highly  pleased.  The  Turkish  officers  were  also 
delighted,  and  declared  at  the  time,  as  they  have  frequently 
told  me  since,  that  they  had  seen  English,  French,  Russians, 
&c.,  but  that  they  had  never  seen  friends,  real  friends,  till 
they  saw  the  Americans.  Such  complimentary  expressions, 
however,  weigh  not  so  much  here  as  they  would  in  the  United 
States. 

"  I  am  happy  to  say  that  two  more  Lancasterian  schools 
are  just  going  into  operation  at  Constantinople,  under  the 
direction  of  the  Seraskier  Pasha  himself.  The  Seraskier,  or 
generalissimo,  ranks,  I  believe,  about  the  third  in  the  king- 


GREAT   EXCITEMENT.  165 

dom.  He  is  now  more  than  eighty  years  old,  but  is  as  full 
of  fire  as  ever,  and  his  power  and  influence  seem  scarcely 
less  than  that  of  the  Sultan  himself.  For  these  two  schools 
we  furnish  a  copy  of  the  same  lessons  which  we  prepared  for 
the  school  of  Azim  Bey,  the  Alai-emini,  or  commissary-gen 
eral,  at  Scutari. 

"  On  a  recent  visit  to  the  barracks  at  Dolma  Baktche,  we 
were  agreeably  surprised  to  find  that  a  third  Lancasterian 
school  had  been  established  there.  This  makes  now  seven  in 
all,  besides  the  rooms  appropriated  for  learning  the  French 
language,  and  for  drawing  maps,  charts,  &c.,  connected  with  all 
these  schools.  Not  less  than  two  thousand  Mussulman  youth 
are  now  enjoying  the  advantages  of  education  in  these  schools. 
Four  hundred  and  fifty  are  in  the  three  schools  at  Dolma 
Baktche  ;  and  quite  a  number,  who  six  months  ago  did  not 
know  a  single  letter  of  the  alphabet,  now  read  any  book  with 
ease.  Rifaat  Bey,  Kaimakam  at  this  place,  with  whom  I  had 
had  previous  intercourse  both  here  and  at  my  own  house,  said 
he  hoped  that  all  the  rooms  in  the  whole  establishment  would 
one  day  be  converted  into  schools;  and  to  this  expression 
of  his  feelings  we  added  our  most  hearty  amen.  It  is  truly 
matter  of  most  fervent  gratitude  that  so  many  doors  of  use 
fulness  are  now  opening  before  us,  and  that  we  are  permitted 
to  exert,  directly  and  indirectly,  so  important  an  influence  in 
the  changes  that  are  taking  place,  and  that  seem  destined  to 
give  an  entirely  new  impression  to  the  character  of  the  differ 
ent  people  dwelling  in  these  countries. 

"  Since  I  commenced  writing,  our  agent  has  been  to  see 
the  Greek  patriarch.  He  says  the  priests  break  his  head ; 
that  he  must  have  rest ;  and  he  intimated  strongly  to  our 
agent  that  he  should  resign  his  office.  The  patriarch  is 
learned  and  candid,  and  is  not  at  all  the  man  to  delight  in  a 
storm ;  but  the  incessant  cries,  '  The  people  have  all  become 
Lutherans  ! '  '  They  have  all  become  Protestants  ! '  '  They 
have  all  become  infidels  ! '  '  We  are  all  polluted ! '  &c., 
1  while  you,  O  patriarch,  sit  still,  and  see  it  all,'  —  have 
greatly  discomposed  his  spirits. 

"May  8.  There  is  at  present  a  prodigious  excitement 
among  the  Greeks  in  regard  to  the  Lancasterian  schools  ; 
the  priests  have  taken  some  '  lewd  fellows  of  the  baser  sort, ' 
have  stirred  up  the  patriarch,  threaten  him  with  the  loss  of 
office,  and  demand  the  utter  destruction  of  every  school. 
It  is  impossible  to  see  what  will  be  the  result ;  but  the 


1G6  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE    TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

waves  have  been  running  higher  and  higher  for  more  than  a 
month,  and  certainly  appear  now  ready  to  swallow  up  every 
thing.  The  patriarch  weeps,  and  says  that  if  this  state  of 
things  goes  on  for  three  years  more,  as  it  has  for  three  years 
past,  there  will  not  be  another  Christian  left  in  all  Constan 
tinople  ;  i.e.,  I  suppose,  there  will  not  be  another  Greek  to 
kick  up  his  heels  at  the  sound  of  the  bagpipe  on  Sundays. 
And  this  spake  he  not  of  himself,  but,  being  high-priest,  he 
prophesies  that  it  is  better  for  the  schools  to  perish  than  the 
orthodox  Greek  religion.  However.  I  had  no  idea  that  our 
influence  here  had  been  so  great ;  and  I  am  sure  the  patri 
arch  must  have  exaggerated.  But  He  that  sitteth  in  the 
heavens  is  higher  than  they  ;  and  all  the  weapon  we  shall 
think  it  best  to  use  against  them  is  '  all-prayer.'  We  shall 
not  even  enter  into  an  argument  with  them  on  the  subject, 
but  let  them  fight  it  out  alone  among  themselves,  for  the  less 
noise  the  better." 

On  becoming  acquainted  with  the  origin  of  the  opposition 
that  from  time  to  time  sprang  up  against  the  missionaries, 
the  circulation  of  slanderous  reports,  the  stirring  up  of  public 
excitement,  the  breaking  up  of  schools,  and  other  measures 
of  hostility,  it  was  often  found  that  the  Romish  priests  were 
at  the  bottom  of  it  all.  They  had  no  immediate  power,  as 
in  Roman  Catholic  countries,  but  they  could  and  did  secretly 
instigate  the  Greeks  and  the  Armenians  to  hinder  the  good 
work  that  was  going  on  among  them.  Utterly  false  state 
ments  in  regard  to  the  books  that  were  used  in  the  schools, 
the  teachings  of  the  missionaries,  and  their  designs  in  coming 
to  the  country,  were  circulated  by  the  Jesuits.  But  only 
once  did  they  make  an  attempt  to  convert  the  Protestant 
missionary  to  the  Roman  Catholic  faith.  The  record  of  this 
effort  is  so  interesting  and  peculiar,  it  is  here  transcribed  in 
full  from  Mr.  Goodell's  journal.  With  all  the  apparent 
seriousness  of  the  interview,  there  is  a  vein  of  irony  running 
through  the  interrogatories  and  replies  of  the  missionary  that 
seems  to  have  escaped  the  notice  of  the  Jesuit  emissary. 

"April  6,  1834.  Was  visited  to-day  by  a  Jesuit,  who,  as 
it  would  appear,  came  on  purpose  to  convert  me  to  the  papal 


CONVERTING   THE   MISSIONARY.  167 

faith.  He  was  full  of  Peter,  and  his  zeal  knew  no  bounds. 
As  this  was  the  first  instance  that  had  ever  occurred  in  my 
intercourse  with  the  people  of  these  countries  of  any  indi 
vidual  who  even  so  much  as  pretended  to  feel  any  interest  in 
my  spiritual  concerns,  or  to  have  any  care  whether  I  am 
saved  or  lost,  I  was  much  struck  with  it. 

"  He  began  by  lamenting  the  divisions  in  the  Christian 
Church,  and  by  showing  how  sincere  was  his  desire  and  how 
great  the  importance  of  union  ;  and  in  all  this  I  was  not  back 
ward  to  express  the  most  cordial  sympathy,  quoting;  from  the 
prayer  of  our  blessed  Lord,  and  commenting  particularly 
upon  the  words,  '  That  they  all  may  be  one,'  &c. 

"  He  then  lost  no  time  in  introducing  the  Church  of  Rome, 
and  at  once  urged  me  to  become  a  member  of  it.  I  told  him 
that  I  needed  no  urging  at  all,  for  that  I  was  as  ready  as  he 
could  wish  me  to  be  to  do  whatever  he  could  convince  me 
was  right,  and  that  the  only  thing  I  required  of  him  was 
sufficient  reasons  ;  let  him  produce  these,  and  the  work  was 
done.  I  then  proposed  this  question,  What  excuse  shall  I 
offer  at  the  day  of  judgment  for  taking  such  a  step  as  you 
are  now  pressing  me  to  take  ?  As  he  appeared  to  be  con 
fused,  or  hurt,  by  the  interrogation,  and  as  I  felt  that,  if  he  was 
really  seeking  my  good,  I  ought  not  to  confound  him  at  the 
outset,  but  rather  to  encourage  him,  and  give  him  every  ad 
vantage,  I  retracted  the  question,  and  requested  him  to  take 
his  own  way.  His  reasons  were  then  produced,  and  I  at 
tempted  to  answer  them,  till  from  his  whole  manner  it  was 
to  me  as  clear  as  the  sun  that  he  was  not  thinking  of  the 
honor  of  Christ,  or  of  my  conformity  to  His  image  and  ad 
vancement  in  holiness,  but  only  of  the  strength  of  his  own 
party  and  the  glory  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  —  an  object 
which  appeared  to  me  so  infinitely  mean  and  unworthy,  that 
I  could  endure  it  no  longer.  I  then,  in  my  turn,  pressed 
him  with  some  close  questions,  and  forced  him  to  say,  not  by 
inference,  but  in  so  many  words,  — 

"  1.  That  the  Scriptures  are  not  a  sufficient  rule  of  faith 
and  practice,  and  that  no  person  can  be  saved  by  simply  fol 
lowing  their  directions.  And, 

"  2.  That  the  blood  of  Christ  will  not,  cannot,  and  never 
did,  cleanse  any  one  from  all  sin,  however  great  might  be  his 
faith  in  the  efficacy  of  it,  and  however  frequent  and  undoubted 
his  personal  application  of  it  to  his  own  soul.  The  whole, 
in  fact,  must  be  seasoned  and  spiced  with  the  mummery  of 


168          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

Rome,  or  it  is  like  '  salt  that  has  lost  its  savor,  and  is  good 
for  nothing  but  to  be  cast  out,  and  trodden  under  foot  of  men.' 

"  Among  other  reasons  that  he  presented  to  induce  me  to 
profess  Romanism,  he  said  that  in  their  church  they  had 
Christ  brought  very  near  to  them,  —  that  in  the  consecrated 
wafer,  for  instance,  he  held  the  very  Christ  of  God  in  his 
hand.  I  replied,  that  the  Lord  Jesus  was  already  much 
nearer  to  me  than  my  hand,  for  that  He  was  in  my  heart, 
and  that  I  had  become  a  temple  for  the  indwelling  of  His 
Spirit.  He  said  that  whenever  he  ate  the  consecrated  bread 
he  also  had  Christ  in  his  heart.  I  told  him  that  not  a  parti 
cle  of  the  wafer  ever  went  to  his  heart,  but  that  every  bit  of 
it  which  passed  down  his  throat  went  straight  to  his  stomach, 
and  was  '  cast  out  into  the  draught ; '  for  that  (except  in  the 
case  of  very  small  children,  or  very  childish  people,  and  in 
quite  a  different  sense)  the  way  to  the  heart  was  never 
through  the  stomach. 

"  Of  his  assertion,  so  often  and  so  positively  made,  that 
Peter  was  the  head  of  the  church,  I  asked  for  proof.  He 
quoted,  '  Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock,'  &c.  I  asked 
him  whether  he  supposed  that  Peter  and  the  other  disciples 
understood  the  passage.  'Yes,  certainly,'  was  his  reply. 
'  But,'  said  I,  *  they  never  understood  it  the  way  you  do  ;  such 
a  meaning  as  you  affix  to  it,  and  such  inferences  as  you  deduce 
from  it,  they  never  dreamed  of.  For  several  times  after 
wards  they  came  to  our  Lord,  and  put  the  question  to  Him 
directly,  Who  of  them  was  to  be  the  greatest  ?  But  in  no 
instance  did  He  refer  them  to  this  discourse,  and  say,  Do  you 
not  see  that  that  matter  is  already  settled?  Have  not  I 
already  declared  that  Peter  is  to  be  your  head  and  chief? 
No ;  so  far  from  this,  He  made  use  of  the  strongest  language 
and  most  expressive  symbols  to  assure  them  that,  though 
such  things  were  usual  in  the  kingdoms  of  this  world,  yet 
whoever  entertained  such  thoughts  and  views  in  relation  to 
His  kingdom  was  to  be  for  ever  excluded  from  it." 

"  To  his  oft-repeated  declaration  that  there  is  no  salvation 
out  of  the  pale  of  the  Romish  Church,  I  replied,  '  I  am  without 
the  pale  of  the  Romish  Church  ;  and  if  Christ  has  no  pleasure  in 
me,  if  I  do  not  belong  to  Him  and  do  not  keep  His  command 
ments,  why  does  He  manifest  himself  unto  me,  as  He  does  not 
unto  the  world?  Why  does  He  visit  me  and  dwell  with  me, 
softening  and  purifying  my  heart  by  His  Spirit,  and  drawing 
my  affections  away  from  earth  to  heaven  ?  Does  He  ever  do 


A    FAILURE.  169 

this  for  any  whom  He  is  not  saving  from  sin  and  hell,  and 
whom  He  is  not  leading  to  heaven  ?  He  certainly  does  not.* 
"  In  conclusion,  I  told  him  that  so  long  as  I  believed  in 
Christ,  received  His  laws,  and  felt  assured  of  a  judgment  to 
come,  I  could  not,  I  dared  not,  as  I  valued  the  life  of  my 
soul,  turn  from  the  holy  commandments  delivered  unto  us, 
and  give  myself  to  the  guidance  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  And  if  this  is  to  be  a  heretic,  he  certainly  left  me 
a  more  confirmed  one  than  he  found  me." 


170          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 


CHAPTER  XL 

ONE  of  Mr.  Goodell's  most  striking  characteristics  as 
a  man,  and  one  of  his  most  eminent  qualifications 
as  a  missionary,  was  his  practical  wisdom.  As  in  social 
life,  so  in  dealing  with  the  great  diversity  of  characteis 
that  he  met  with  in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties, 
and  especially  in  the  multiplied  emergencies  that  were 
constantly  occurring  in  such  a  city  as  Constantinople,  he 
seciued  to  have  an  intuitive  apprehension  of  what  was 
best  to  be  done,  and  to  be  able  to  do  it  without  exciting 
the  opposition  which  some  men  would  be  sure  to  call  forth. 
He  made  no  compromise  of  truth  or  duty  to  please  any 
one.  Where  principle  was  involved  he  was  unyielding. 
But  his  gentle,  conciliatory  temper  gave  him  an  advantage 
in  dealing  with  all  classes  of  people.  He  had  his  full  share 
of  "  the  contradiction  of  sinners,"  as  he  went  on  with  his 
work,  and,  in  common  with  his  brethren,  he  escaped  the 
woe  pronounced  on  those  of  whom  "  all  men  speak  well ; " 
but  few  have  ever  accomplished  so  much  in  similar  circum 
stances,  and  at  the  same  time  awakened  so  little  personal 
hostility.  It  seemed  perfectly  natural  to  him  to  exemplify 
the  words  of  the  Saviour,  when  commissioning  the  first 
Christian  missionaries :  "  Behold,  I  send  you  forth  as 
sheep  in  the  midst  of  wolves ;  be  ye  therefore  wise  as 
serpents  arid  harmless  as  doves." 

He  was  evidently  just  the  man  for  the  peculiar  and  multi 
plied  types  of  human  character  to  be  found  among  the 
Orientals.  His  plan  was  to  exert  an  influence  over  those 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  without  having  the  appear- 


HIS   QUALIFICATIONS.  171 

ance  of  influencing  them  at  all,  and  so  to  avoid  exciting 
opposition.  He  aimed  at  securing  a  moral  and  religious 
reformation  among  the  people,  not  by  outside  demonstra 
tions  so  much  as  by  leading  the  people  to  adopt  by  them 
selves  those  principles  and  measures  that  would  secure  the 
end.  In  employing  the  important  agency  of  schools,  which 
accomplished  so  much  in  enlightening  the  people  in  the 
early  years  of  the  mission,  he  preferred  to  infuse  a  new 
element  into  the  schools  already  existing,  or  to  give  the  entire 
control  of  the  schools  that  he  organized  to  the  different 
religious  communities,  while  he  quietly  suggested  the  course 
of  instruction,  the  books  that  should  be  used,  and,  indeed, 
the  whole  system  of  management  and  education.  This 
he  was  the  better  able  to  do,  because  the  Greeks  and 
Armenians  had  no  schools  that  were  worthy  of  the  name, 
and  they  were,  at  first,  quite  willing  to  receive  suggestions 
for  their  improvement. 

And  so,  when  some  of  the  Turkish  officials  came  to  him 
and  expressed  an  earnest  desire  for  the  establishment  of 
Lancasterian  schools  for  the  Turkish  youth,  instead  of 
taking  the  work  into  his  own  hands,  or  exercising  any 
sort  of  control  over  them,  he  wisely  left  the  Turks  to  do 
the  work  themselves,  while  by  his  advice  he  secured  their 
proper  management.  By  pursuing  this  course  he  secured 
the  establishment  and  continuance  of  ten,  where  there  could 
have  been  but  one,  had  he  kept  it  under  his  own  control, 
and  in  this  way  he  avoided  all  collision  of  authority. 

So,  also,  in  the  work  of  evangelization.  He  had  not  come 
to  do  a  work  of  proselyting.  He  did  not  feel  called  upon 
to  make  an  open  assault  upon  the  Greek  and  Armenian 
churches.  This  would  utterly  defeat  the  object  for  which 
he  came  to  Turkey,  which  was  to  make  known  the  Gospel 
in  its  simplicity,  and  lead  the  people  to  embrace  the  truth. 
To  pursue  such  a  course  would  at  once  excite  opposition, 
and  close  the  door  against  the  reception  of  the  truth.  His 
aim  was  to  cast  the  leaven  into  the  existing  church  organiza- 


172          FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

tions,  leaving  it  to  work  by  the  power  of  the  Divine  Spirit. 
His  desire  was  to  see  the  work  of  reformation  going  on 
within  the  Greek  and  Armenian  churches,  knowing  that 
when  those  who  were  truly  enlightened  could  endure  the 
mummeries  and  idolatry  of  these  churches  no  longer,  the 
movement  for  a  purer  church  would  come  from  them 
selves.  And  this  was  precisely  the  result  that  came  about 
in  the  course  of  a  few  years. 

He  was  so  much  impressed  with  the  importance  of 
pursuing  this  quiet  course,  that  he  often,  personally  and 
in  his  correspondence  with  other  stations,  delicately  urged 
his  views  upon  his  brethren,  some  of  whom  differed  from 
him.  Having  more  than  once,  in  his  correspondence  with 
the  Board,  expressed  these  views,  he  was  requested  by 
the  Secretary  at  Boston  to  draw  them  out  in  full.  This 
he  did  in  1834,  in  an  extended  series  of  papers,  entitled, 
"  Hints  and  Cautions  to  a  Missionary,"  which  have  been 
preserved,  and  which  would  make  a  volume  of  moderate 
size.  No  portion  of  these  "  Hints "  can  be  given  here, 
but  some  extracts  will  be  made  from  his  more  familiar 
correspondence  on  the  same  subject. 

In  one  of  his  letters  to  the  Corresponding  Secretary 
he  wrote :  — 

""We  must  follow  Christ.  That  is  a  general  proposi 
tion.  When  we  are  in  circumstances  which  call  for  the 
exercise  of  patience,  or  of  a  forgiving  spirit,  we  must 
follow  Christ  in  that  particular.  When  we  are  in  circum 
stances  which  call  for  bold  and  fearless  declarations  of 
divine  truth,  as  is  the  case  with  our  brethren  in  America, 
we  must  follow  Christ  in  that  respect.  And  when  great 
caution  and  consummate  prudence  are  required,  may  we 
not  also  follow  him  in  this  ?  Christ  always  adapted  His 
instructions  to  the  circumstances  of  the  people.  You  aim 
to  do  the  same  hi  America ;  and  may  we  not  do  the  same 
here  ?  And  if  you  in  America  can,  under  certain  circum 
stances,  follow  Christ  in  one  particular,  why  may  we  not 
here,  under  other  circumstances,  follow  Him  in  another 
particular  ?  Why  should  we  judge  you  as  not  being  universal 


MISSIONARY   POLICY.  173 

in  your  conformity  to  Christ,  or  why  should  you  judge 
us  ?  Suppose  we  should  change  places,  and,  of  course,  cir 
cumstances  ;  you  would  then  have  to  become  much  more  cau 
tious,  and  we  much  less  so,  or  else  neither  of  us  would 
follow  Christ." 

To  one  of  the  missionaries  in  Syria  he  wrote  :  — 

"  The  great  principle  upon  which  we  act  you  will  find 
in  the  example  of  our  blessed  Lord  :  *  I  have  many  things 
to  say  unto  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now.  And 
with  many  such  parables  spake  He  the  word  unto  them, 
as  they  were  able  to  hear  it.'  Now  this  is  not  a  mere 
theory  with  us,  but  it  is  literally  reduced  to  practice ; 
and  we  endeavor,  in  this  respect  as  well  as  in  others,  to 
'  walk  in  His  steps.'  Nor  in  applying  this  principle  here 
have  we  any,  even  the  most  remote,  reference  to  what 
Christians  can  do  or  say  in  America,  or  to  what  men  can 
bear  there,  or  to  what  the  government  will  admit  there. 
No  :  we  are  to  look  at  the  ignorance,  prejudice,  and  bigotry 
that  prevail  here ;  at  the  state  of  society,  &c.,  —  and  then 
apply  the  principle  in  all  its  length  and  breadth.  And  I 
feel  no  hesitation  at  all  in  doing  it.  It  appears  to  me  that 
if  a  missionary  should  do  nothing  for  the  first  three  years 
but  simply  mix  with  the  people,  and  learn  how  weak 
and  ignorant  and  foolish  and  prejudiced  they  really  are, 
it  would  be  an  acquisition  worth  a  million  times  more  to 
him  than  that  of  all  the  languages  spoken  in  the  Ottoman 
empire. 

"  In  every,  or  almost  every,  place  individuals  are  found 
who  are  so  far  enlightened  as  to  see  and  feel  that  their 
churches  are  abominably  corrupt,  and  who  do  sincerely 
desire  a  reform  ;  and  it  is  a  most  desirable  thing  to  secure 
their  influence  and  co-operation.  But,  by  taking  too  high 
ground,  do  we  not  effectually  preclude  this  ?  They  are 
not  prepared  to  go  to  such  lengths  ;  and  they  are  forced, 
even  against  the  convictions  of  their  own  conscience,  to 
take  sides  against  us.  Do  you  say  they  should  be  prepared 
to  venture  all  consequences  ?  I  reply,  if  they  were  so  pre 
pared,  our  services  would  not  be  necessary ;  the  work  would 
be  done  without  us. 

"  We  ourselves,  at  this  place,  have  nothing  to  do  with 
the  church,  its  dogmas,  ceremonies,  and  superstitions  ;  nor 
do  we  ever  think  of  meddling  with  the  convents,  the  priests, 


174          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

the  celibacy  of  the  clergy,  &c.  In  fact,  we  stand  nearly  as  far 
aloof  from  what  may  be  called  ecclesiastical  matters,  as  we 
do  from  political  matters.  We  find  we  have  no  occasion  to 
touch  upon  them,  and  we  feel  wonderfully  relieved.  We 
have  enough  else  to  do  ;  we  have  enough  else  to  say.  We 
direct  men  to  their  own  hearts  and  to  the  Bible.  And  just 
as  soon  as  any  one  is  brought  to  read  the  word  of  God  with 
a  serious  spirit,  '  he  is  convinced  of  all,  he  is  judged  of  all/ 
so  that  we  have  no  need  to  say  any  thing.  Indeed,  he  is 
generally  disposed  to  break  away  from  his  church  long 
before?  he  has  religion  enough  to  carry  him  through  the  oppo 
sition  he  will  have  to  encounter. 

"  Nor  do  we  make  any  attempts  to  establish  a  new  church 
to  raise  up  a  new  party.  We  disclaim  every  thing  of  the 
kind.  We  tell  them  frankly,  You  have  sects  enough  among 
you  already,  and  we  have  no  design  of  setting  up  a  new  one, 
or  of  pulling  down  your  churches,  or  drawing  away  members 
from  them  in  order  to  build  up  our  own.  No  ;  let  him  that 
is  a  Greek  be  a  Greek  still,  and  him  that  is  an  Armenian  be 
an  Armenian  still.  We  have  come  to  do  all  the  good  in  our 
power,  and  to  assist  in  raising  your  whole  population  from 
that  state  of  ignorance,  degradation,  and  death  into  which  you 
are  fallen. 

"  To  be  sure,  the  time  is  coming,  and  it  is  certainly  draw 
ing  on  apace,  when  there  will  be  a  tremendous  breaking  up 
of  those  churches,  and  when  they  will  have  to  be  entirely 
remodelled  ;  and  then  our  counsel  and  advice  will  be  wanted, 
and  we  may  have  to  devote  much  thought  and  time  to  this 
particular  subject.  But  in  the  mean  time  let  it  be  our  great 
concern  to  bring  men  to  an  acquaintance  with  the  Holy 
Scriptures  and  to  a  knowledge  of  salvation,  and  thus  prepare 
materials  for  something  better  in  church  and  state." 

Many  years  later  he  expressed  his  views  on  this  point  in  a 
letter  to  a  missionary  at  Trebizond :  — 

"  No  person  should  be,  in  the  least  degree,  encouraged  to 
break  away  from  his  church  till  there  is  good  reason  to 
believe  that  he  is  no  longer  a  servant  of  sin,  that  his  feet  are 
on  the  immovable  rock,  and  that  he  has  a  faith  that  will 
overcome  the  world.  If  we  take  any  other  course,  we  bring 
our  friends  into  great  trouble,  and  do  them  a  lasting  injury. 
There  is  danger  of  their  being  prejudiced  and  hardened.  To 


NOT   APPEALING    TO    CAESAR.  175 

quarrel  with  their  own  church,  or  to  oppose  it,  is  one  of  the 
very  last  steps  they  should  be  allowed  to  take.  It  should  be 
absolutely  frowned  upon.  They  should  be  made  to  quarrel 
with  themselves  and  oppose  sin  in  themselves  ;  and  if  they 
cannot  be  brought  to  do  this,  let  them  remain  where  they  are. 
I  would  not,  in  ordinary  cases,  even  discuss  ecclesiastical 
matters  and  church  abuses  with  them.  Preach  the  pure, 
blessed  Gospel ;  and  if  they  will  not  receive  it,  they  will 
perish,  whether  their  own  church  be  corrupt  or  pure." 

The  following  passage  occurs  in  his  journal :  — 

"  We  feel  it  to  be  an  occasion  for  devout  thankfulness  that 
we  have  never  been  drawn  aside  from  our  work  to  engage 
in  any  controversy  with  the  Greeks.  Notwithstanding  all 
the  books  that  have  been  published  against  us  and  our  opera 
tions,  we  have  never  written  one  syllable  or  said  one  word  in 
reply.  We  have  had  enough  else  to  do  ;  and  we  have  kept 
about  our  own  work  as  though  nothing  had  been  said  or  written 
against  us,  leaving  them  to  light  on  alone,  '  as  one  that  beat- 
eth  the  air.' " 

So  clear  was  his  conviction  of  the  truth  that  Christ's  king 
dom  is  not  of  this  world,  and  that  it  is  not  to  be  advanced 
by  worldly  authority  and  power,  that  he  was  exceedingly 
averse  to  obtaining  firmans  for  carrying  on  any  missionary 
operations,  or  seeking  official  interference  and  protection 
from  the  government  whenever  it  could  be  avoided.  To 
one  of  the  missionaries  at  Smyrna,  who  had  urgently  re 
quested  his  influence  with  Commodore  Porter,  as  United 
States  Charge  d'affaires,  to  obtain  some  official  protection  of 
the  schools,  he  counselled  quiet  prosecution  of  the  work,  with 
out  creating  disturbance  or  invoking  aid  from  any  civil  power, 
and  especially  a  foreign  power  :  — 

"January  24,  1834.  The  fact  is,  our  strength  consists  in 
being  as  quiet  as  possible.  The  less  that  is  said  and  known 
about  our  operations  so  much  the  better.  A  great  deal  can 
be  done  in  a  silent,  harmless,  inoffensive  way  in  these  coun 
tries,  but  nothing  in  a  storm.  I  do  deprecate  a  storm  far 
more  than  any  of  our  consuls  or  worldly  wise  men  do.  If 
Mr.  O.  talks  to  you  of  prudence,  you  may  go  all  lengths  with 


176          FORTY    YEARS    IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

him,  and  a  great  deal  further,  unless  he  is  different  from  any 
consul  I  have  ever  seen.  Be  frank  with  him,  and  ask  his 
advice  whenever  you  know  it  cannot  but  be  exactly  in  accord 
ance  with  youv  own  views  ;  ask  it,  too,  whenever  you  are  in 
any  real  doubt  as  to  our  relations  with  the  Forte,  &c.  We 
did  not  come  here  to  quarrel  with  governors  and  pashas,  nor 
with  patriarchs  and  bishops.  And,  as  to  the  Catholics,  pray 
let  them  entirely  alone,  and  neither  curse  them  at  all  nor 
bless  them  at  all." 

To  another  missionary  at  Smyrna,  who  had  asked  the  same 
kind  of  interference,  he  wrote  :  — 

"  From  a  remark  in  Mr.  T.'s  letter,  I  find  you  are  still 
expecting  I  should  endeavor  to  obtain  a  firman  for  the 
restoration  of  your  Turkish  schools,  and  wondering  why  I 
should  have  been  so  long  silent  on  the  subject.  I  had  in 
numerous  letters  expressed  my  views  and  feelings  so  very 
fully  on  this  whole  subject,  in  the  case  of  Bishop  Dionysius, 
that  I  supposed  all  the  brethren  at  Smyrna  perfectly  under 
stood  that  the  thing  was,  in  our  view,  impracticable. 

"  Fray,  how  is  such  a  firman  to  be  obtained  ?  Who  shall 
apply  for  it  ?  No  ambassador  can  do  it  officially,  without 
transcending  the  powers  vested  in  him.  And  to  urge  him  to 
do  it  is  to  urge  him  to  do  what  is  not  his  duty,  what  is  a  vio 
lation  of  the  treaty,  and  what,  of  course,  his  own  government 
will  not  bear  him  out  in  doing.  Ought  he,  then,  to  do  it  ? 
I  answer  unhesitatingly,  he  ought  not.  His  official  conduct 
ought  to  be  strictly  conformed  to  the  treaty,  as  it  is  mutually 
understood  by  the  parties.  If  the  treaty  be  defective,  that  is 
no  concern  of  his,  except  with  his  own  government  at  home ; 
all  he  can  do  is  to  represent  its  defects  to  them,  and  in  the 
mean  time  to  abide  by  the  existing  one  till  his  government 
can  or  will  form  a  new  and  better  one  with  the  Porte. 
Should  he  happen  to  be  on  familiar  terms  with  any  distin 
guished  Turks,  he  can,  of  course,  as  a  private  individual,  ask 
and  obtain  favors  of  them,  such  as  they  are  able  to  grant. 
But  firmans  are  official  documents  ;  they  proceed  from  the 
Reis  Effendi,  and  bear  the  signature  of  the  Sultan  ;  and, 
besides,  with  the  Reis  Effendi  the  ambassadors  are  seldom  on 
terms  of  intimacy.  Indeed,  they  seldom  have  much  inter 
course  with  any  of  the  high  officers  of  government,  except  what 
is  strictly  of  a  diplomatic  or  official  character.  In  this  char- 


OPPOSITION.  177 

accer  they  are  not  in  general  backward  ;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
are  forward.  This  is  especially  true  of  all  consuls,  so  far  as 
I  have  known  them.  At  Beyrout  they  were  petty  kings  ; 
they  were  disposed  to  go  far  beyond  what  existing  treaties 
would  allow,  or  their  own  governments  at  home  would  sanc 
tion,  and  instead  of  a  spur  they  rather  needed  a  curb.  Ought 
they,  then,  to  be  urged  and  goaded  and  fretted,  when  their 
own  inclination  already  leads  them  to  interfere  beyond  what 
existing  treaties  give  them  any  right  to  do  ?  Manifestly 
they  ought  not. 

"  Near  two  years  since  one  of  our  own  little  schools  in  this 
place  was  broken  up.  And  although  it  had  been  visited  and 
was  patronized  by  the  Russian  and  Spanish  ambassadors,  and 
more  particularly  so  by  the  American  minister,  yet  no  one  of 
them  interfered.  In  the  first  place,  they  could  not  interfere 
lawfully,  and  of  course  had  no  right  to  do  it.  And  in  the 
second  place,  I  did  not  wish  them  to  do  it.  Such  interfer 
ence,  had  it  succeeded,  would  have  done  more  hurt  than  good. 
It  would  have  alarmed  the  fears  and  awakened  the  prejudices 
of  the  whole  community ;  their  worst  passions  would  have 
been  excited ;  the  misrepresentations  would  have  been  end 
less  ;  and,  instead  of  there  being  numerous  Lancasterian 
schools  in  this  neighborhood,  as  at  present,  there  would  prob 
ably  have  been  but  that  one,  and  that  one  sustained  only  by 
civil  authority  and  force,  and  thus,  by  shutting  up  other  doors 
of  usefulness,  proving  a  curse  rather  than  a  blessing." 

In  such  a  world  as  this,  however,  and  especially  in  such  a 
part  of  it  as  the  Turkish  empire,  and  more  especially  among 
the  adherents  of  the  corrupt  Oriental  churches,  "  it  must 
needs  be  that  offences  come."  The  breaking  out  of  oppo 
sition  could  not  long  be  stayed.  Accordingly,  he  writes  :  — 

September  9,  1834.  During  the  Greek  Lent,  a  monk,  who 
formerly  lived  in  one  of  the  Ionian  Islands,  and  who,  it  is 
said,  was  banished  thence  by  the  English  government  for 
his  officious  meddling,  or  seditious  conduct,  preached  in  the 
principal  church  of  Constantinople,  and  before  the  patriarch,  a 
most  furious  sermon  against  the  schools,  the  books,  and  the  new 
translations  of  the  Scriptures  into  Greek,  accusing  the  priests, 
the  bishops,  and  even  the  patriarch  himself,  of  being  polluted 
with  heresy,  and  of  conniving  at  a  monstrous  evil,  which  was 
8*  L 


178          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

bringing  ruin  upon  their  church  and  nation.  Many  of  the 
people  left  the  church,  and  the  patriarch  sent  a  man  into  the 
pulpit  three  times  to  pull  the  skirt  of  the  preacher's  cloak ; 
but  he  paid  no  attention  to  these  hints,  and  continued  to  rave 
like  a  madman.  The  same  sermon  he  preached  also  in  Galata 
and  in  other  places.  And  his  influence  was  the  greater,  as 
he  was  almost  the  only  individual  at  the  capital  at  all  capa 
ble  of  making  a  sermon,  and  as  he  could  at  least  pretend  to 
speak  from  his  own  experience  of  the  tendency  of  this  system 
of  missionary  and  Bible  means,  and  also  from  his  personal 
knowledge  of  the  motives  and  designs  of  those  engaged  in 
the  work. 

"  In  consequence  of  all  this,  there  was  an  immediate  inter 
ference  in  all  the  schools :  every  thing  had  to  undergo  the 
strictest  scrutiny ;  the  books  were  subjected  to  the  most  rigid 
examination  ;  and,  though  they  had  the  patriarch's  own  seal  in 
their  favor,  though  nothing  appeared  against  them,  yet  it  was 
resolved  that  poison  must  be  concealed  somewhere  in  them, 
and  that  therefore  they  must  cease  to  be  used  as  school-books, 
and  the  old  church  prayers  and  Psalters  must  be  introduced 
in  their  stead.  The  teachers,  one  and  all,  resisted  these 
measures  for  some  time ;  but  they  were  finally  compelled  to 
make  at  least  a  show  of  submission,  either  in  whole  or  in 
part. 

"  Blessed  be  God,  whether  His  beloved  Son  shall  see  of  the 
travail  of  His  soul,  and  whether  He  shall  come  and  reign  over 
the  hearts  of  men  or  not,  does  not  depend  on  princes  or 
patriarchs.  And  as  we  endeavored  to  publish  the  laws  of 
His  kingdom,  and  to  prepare  the  way  for  His  coming  to  take 
possession  of  it  under  the  former  patriarch,  so  do  we  resolve 
in  the  strength  of  the  Lord  to  labor  still  more  abundantly  to 
do  this  under  the  latter." 

At  the  opening  of  another  year  there  were  evidences  that 
the  truth  was  taking  effect,  and  that  the  good  Spirit  was 
moving  upon  the  hearts  of  the  people.  He  writes  in  his 
journal :  — 

"February  28,  1835.  The  state  of  things  among  the  Ar 
menians  continues  interesting.  Almost  every  day,  for  a  long 
time,  there  have  been  little  assemblies  in  Constantinople  for 
reading  the  Bible,  God's  own  blessed  word;  almost  every 
day  some  go  to  Peshtimaljian  with  questions ;  and  very  fre- 


WISE   COUNSEL.  179 

quently  some  one  comes  to  us  for  a  solution  of  such  as  Pesh- 
timaljian  cannot  satisfactorily  answer.  A  short  time  since 
they  sent  over  to  us  to  know  what  they  were  to  do  for  a 
church.  We  replied,  Be  in  no  hurry  at  present.  You  are  now 
going  on  well ;  your  numbers  are  daily  increasing ;  your  influ 
ence  is  extending.  Be  content  for  a  while  to  break  your 
bread  from  house  to  house.  Perhaps,  by  and  by,  the  patri 
arch  himself  will  give  you  a  church,  where  you  can  worship 
God  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  and  where  the  law  and  the 
prophets,  with  the  glorious  Gospel,  can  be  read  and  ex 
pounded  every  Sabbath  day.  At  any  rate,  have  no  fear  but 
ihat  the  Lord  will  build  you  a  sure  house.  The  next  day, 
they  sent  to  know  what  they  were  to  do  for  priests.  We 
sent  word  back  to  them  to  pray  that  '  a  great  company  of  the 
priests  might  become  obedient  to  the  faith.' 

"  The  excitement  has  been  certainly  great,  but  it  has  ap 
peared  to  be  rather  a  deep  and  earnest  and  sincere  inquiry 
about  the  truth,  and  the  way  of  salvation,  than  anxiety  about 
a  personal  interest  in  its  blessings.  It  has  existed  princi 
pally  among  the  more  sober  and  respectable  of  the  people, 
and  has  been  promoted  by  means  judiciously  selected  and 
applied  ;  and,  what  is  truly  wonderful,  scarcely  any  opposi 
tion  has  been  heard  of  from  any  quarter.  It  is  difficult  to 
account  for  this  except  from  the  fact  that  the  bishops  are 
really  more  enlightened  than  the  people.  Should  the  latter 
begin  to  take  the  lead,  and  the  former  to  fall  in  the  rear, 
then  it  will  '  be  impossible  but  that  oif  ences  should  come  ; ' 
and,  according  to  human  view,  there  is  but  one  way  to  prevent 
it,  and  that  is  by  endeavoring  to  enlighten  equally  the  clergy 
and  the  laity,  and  to  bring  them  all  forward  together.  When 
I  first  came  into  these  countries,  I  laid  hold  of  individuals, 
and  endeavored  to  pull  them  out  of  the  fire ;  but  my  aim 
is  now  to  take  hold  of  whole  communities,  and,  as  far  as 
possible,  to  raise  them  all  up  to  'sit  together  in  heavenly 
places  in  Christ  Jesus.'  The  Lord  grant  that  not  one  may 
be  left  behind ! 

"  We  are  careful  to  say  nothing  which  shall  inflame  the 
people  against  the  priests,  or  the  priests  against  the  people ; 
and  we  take  as  much  pains  to  avoid  an  open  rupture  with 
either  as  General  Washington  ever  did  to  avoid  exposing 
the  lives  of  his  few  hardy  but  ragged  half-accoutred  soldiers 
by  risking  a  general  battle.  Washington  rendered  himself 
unpopular  by  so  doing ;  but  he  manifestly  did  right,  and  pos- 


180  FORTY   YEARS   IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

terity  has  given  a  verdict  in  his  favor.  He  might  have  ob 
tained  for  himself  momentary  glory  and  renown,  by  rushing 
into  battle  and  dying  like  a  brave  man,  but  —  our  country 
would  have  been  lost !  He  fought  for  his  country,  and  not 
for  himself.  His  plans  and  his  efforts  had  in  view  the  good 
of  his  country,  and  not  his  own  reputation.  Arid  thus  we 
should  labor  for  the  salvation  of  these  people,  and  not  for  a 
martyr's  crown.  The  ranks  of  the  enemy  are  now  thinning 
out  daily,  by  desertions  to  the  standard  of  truth,  and  we  hope 
to  come  off  victorious,  without  entering  the  arena  of  contro 
versy  ;  yet  we  would  not  forget  that  the  '  foolishness  of  God 
is  wiser  than  men,  and  the  weakness  of  God  is  stronger  than 
men.'  When,  therefore,  the  providence  of  God  evidently 
calls  us  to  the  field  of  battle,  by  the  grace  of  God  we  will 
fight,  sure  of  the  victory.  At  present  we  need,  more  than 
any  thing  else,  not  the  spirit  of  controversy,  but  the  Spirit  of 
God,  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  the  spirit  of  love,  of  holiness,  of 
forgiveness,  tenderness,  long-suffering,  and  patience.  May 
this  be  poured  out  upon  us  abundantly  1 " 

The  Greek  patriarch  at  Constantinople,  having  shown  an 
enlightened  zeal  for  the  improvement  of  the  people  by  en 
couraging  the  establishment  of  schools,  and  by  favoring  the 
course  of  the  more  evangelical  among  his  clergy,  was  re 
moved  by  the  Synod.  The  new  patriarch  entered  upon  his 
office  with  a  display  of  bigotry  and  zeal  against  the  truth  and 
against  all  that  was  calculated  to  enlighten  and  elevate  the 
people.  He  applied  to  the  Porte  for  authority  to  dismiss 
from  the  schools  all  the  teachers  who  were  not  forward  to 
carry  out  the  views  of  the  Synod  against  the  heresy  that  was 
beginning  to  spread.  He  sent  a  priest  to  preach  in  the 
churches,  who  denounced  the  former  patriarch  as  a  Protes 
tant,  and  declared  that,  had  he  continued  in  office  but  three 
years  longer,  he  would  have  made  the  whole  Greek  Church 
Protestant  by  means  of  the  Lancasterian  schools.  In  regard 
to  these  proceedings  Mr.  Goodell  writes  :  — 

"  March  6,  1835.  The  effect  of  all  this  has  been  very  dif 
ferent  from  what  the  patriarch  expected  and  intended,  for 
the  reaction  was  tremendous.  The  preacher  had  to  stop 


DEATH    OF   MISSIONARIES.  181 

preaching,  and  the  patriarch  was  insulted  to  his  face.  The 
fact  is,  there  have  been  so  many  examinations  into  this  system 
of  school  operations,  and  all  without  discovering  any  thing 
treasonable,  that  the  people  are  heartily  tired  of  it,  and  seem 
determined  to  submit  to  no  more  vexations  of  the  kind ;  and 
they  have  taken  a  stand,  which  looks  very  much  like  the  atti 
tude  of  defiance.  I  am  perfectly  astonished  at  the  advance 
they  have  made,  and  the  degree  of  influence  and  independ 
ence  they  have  acquired,  while  the  dignitaries  of  the  church 
have  lost  in  the  same  proportion.  It  appears  to  me  that  the 
latter  have  lost  full  fifty  per  cent  since  I  first  came  to  Con 
stantinople,  nearly  four  years  ago.  Every  struggle  they  make 
shows  more  and  more  their  weakness  instead  of  their  strength. 

"The  above-mentioned  priest  came  over  to  Pera,  and 
preached  a  whole  sermon  against  our  Greek  school,  uttering 
the  most  furious  exclamations,  and  raving  like  a  maniac. 
But  every  little  girl  comes  just  as  before ;  not  a  single  child 
was  frightened  away  for  a  single  day,  and  the  school  goes  on 
as  prosperously  as  ever.  Besides  all  this,  two  new  schools 
for  boys,  on  the  Lancasterian  plan,  have  gone  into  operation 
hi  the  interior. 

April  2,  he  writes :  "  The  good  work  goes  on  among  the 
Armenians  without  any  abatement.  The  change  that  has 
taken  place  among  them  within  the  last  fifteen  months  is 
truly  astonishing,  and  almost  surpasses  belief.  Three  of 
those  who  are  most  active  in  the  reformation,  and  who  talk 
and  read  and  preach  in  all  companies  and  on  all  occasions  and 
with  all  boldness,  are  members  of  the  great  Synod,  by  which 
every  thing  relative  to  the  affairs  of  the  church  or  of  the 
nation  (the  Armenians)  is  regulated.  Almost  every  day, 
too,  I  am  visited  more  or  less  by  Mussulmans.  I  could  very 
profitably  devote  my  whole  time  to  them." 

Under  the  above  date  (April  2,  1835),  he  makes  mention 
of  the  death  of  several  eminent  missionaries  in  different  parts 
of  the  world  :  — 

"  The  letter  which  brought  us  the  intelligence  of  the  death 
of  Dr.  Dodge,  at  Jerusalem,  informed  us  also  of  the  decease 
of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Morrison,  in  China,  and  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Carey,  at  Serampore.  And  it  was  only  a  few  days  previous 
that  we  heard  of  our  brethren  Lyman  and  Munson  being 
devoured  by  cannibals  in  the  Island  of  Sumatra.  This  last 


182          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

seems  to  us  particularly  shocking  and  awful,  because  it  is  an 
event  so  uncommon.  But  in  reality  what  difference  does  it 
make  whether  our  bodies  be  devoured  by  cannibals  or  by 
worms  ?  Our  blessed  Lord  will  in  either  case  know  where 
to  find  us  at  the  resurrection  of  the  just." 

In  his  correspondence  at  this  time  he  speaks  hopefully  and 
confidently  of  the  blessing  which  was  coming  upon  the  peo 
ple  for  whom  he  was  laboring  and  praying.  In  a  letter  to  a 
friend  in  Boston,  dated  Constantinople,  Oct.  13,  1835,  he 
writes  :  — 

"  Your  kind  letter  of  May  7th  was  received  July  the  4th, 
together  with  the  penknives  and  razors,  with  which,  indeed, 
you  have  kept  me  well  supplied  these  thirteen  years.  But 
for  the  former  I  should  not  have  written  so  much  nor  so 
well ;  and  but  for  the  latter  I  should  not  have  made  so 
decent  an  appearance  when  I  went  abroad.  Oh,  how  pleas 
ant  it  is  to  belong  to  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and  to  use 
razors,  penknives,  scissors,  and,  indeed,  every  thing,  under 
His  spiritual  reign  ! 

"  As  you  already  know,  we  erected  His  standard  at  this 
capital  four  years  ago,  and  I  am  happy  to  report  that  it  is 
now  seen  from  afar.  Many  eyes  are  directed  towards  it, 
and  not  only  so,  but  there  is  really  a  gathering  round  it. 
Instead  of  attempting  to  teach  the  Bible  as  heretofore,  there 
is  a  willingness  on  the  part  of  many  Armenians  that  the 
Bible  should  teach  them.  They  sit  down  at  the  feet  of 
Christ  to  learn  of  Him,  and  are,  I  trust,  becoming  wise  unto 
salvation.  I  have  never  before  seen  so  much  tenderness  of 
feeling  since  I  left  America,  unless  perhaps  at  times  in  our 
English  congregation  at  Malta.  It  seems  like  the  coming 
over  of  a  cloud,  and  the  first  fresh  droppings  of  the  rain  after 
a  long-continued  and  most  distressing  drought.  It  is  like  the 
coming  back  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  dwell  with  men  on  the 
earth,  and  to  fit  them  to  become  subjects  of  the  spiritual  reign 
of  Christ. 

"  But  I  was  going  to  tell  you  of  a  conversation  I  had  with 
an  Armenian,  a  friend  of  ours,  who  lives  in  one  of  the  vil 
lages  on  the  beautiful  Bosphorus,  and  who  can  scarcely  be 
less  than  fourscore  years  and  ten.  His  limbs  shake  like 
those  of  one  afflicted  with  the  palsy,  and  he  cannot  even  take 
his  coffee  without  drawing  his  knees  up  near  to  his  chin,  and 


CITIZENSHIP   IN    HEAVEN.  183 

grasping  the  cup  between  them  with  both  hands.  But, 
strange  as  it  may  seem,  he  is  always  found  working  at  his 
trade,  and  his  mind  is  vigorous  and  active.  As  he  is  sensible 
that  he  cannot  continue  long  in  this  world,  his  thoughts  are 
much  directed  to  that  world  of  which  he  is  soon  to  be  an 
inhabitant ;  and,  whenever  I  visit  him,  he  always  has  many 
questions  to  ask  about  the  momentous  concerns  of  that 
world,  and  he  always  asks  them  with  a  serious  and  tender 
spirit.  It  is  pleasant  to  talk  with  him,  and  tell  him  of  the 
fulness  and  freeness  of  salvation  by  Christ.  In  the  last 
interview  I  had  with  him,  something  was  said  of  '  our  con 
versation,'  or,  as  it  should  be  rendered,  '  citizenship,  being  in 
heaven.'  I  told  him  that  during  the  Greek  revolution  many 
respectable  families  fled  to  Malta.  They  lived  there  several 
years,  but  they  did  not  become  citizens  of  Malta.  They  did 
not  build  houses  there,  nor  make  any  arrangement  for  a  per 
manent  residence  there.  They  did  not  intermarry  nor  amalga 
mate  with  the  people  there,  but,  on  the  contrary,  they  retained 
their  own  customs  and  manners,  and  formed  a  class  by  them 
selves.  They  were  citizens  of  Greece.  They  were  interested  in 
the  affairs  of  Greece,  and  read  every  thing  which  was  published 
about  the  state  of  things  there.  They  laid  out  their  money 
for  houses  and  lands  in  Greece,  and  were  making  preparation 
to  remove  thither  with  their  whole  families.  They  hailed  as 
a  brother  every  one  who  was  a  friend  to  Greece,  and  they 
had  a  time  of  rejoicing  whenever  they  heard  good  news  from 
that  country.  In  fact,  they  carried  on  a  brisk  correspond 
ence  and  trade  with  Greece  ;  all  their  thoughts  and  desires 
and  aims  and  endeavors  had  some  reference  or  other  to 
Greece  ;  they  lived  in  Malta,  but  their  citizenship  was  in 
Greece  ;  arid  they  were  known  and  acknowledged  every 
where  as  the  citizens  of  Greece.  Every  one  of  them  could 
say,  '  That  is  my  country ;  that  is  my  home ;  there  my  best 
friends  and  kindred  dwell.' 

"  Just  so  should  '  our  citizenship  be  in  heaven.'  Every 
thing  we  do  or  say  should  have  special  reference  to  heaven. 
And  whenever  we  are  at  a  loss  to  know  what  is  meant  by 
'  our  citizenship  being  in  heaven,'  we  should  think  of  these 
citizens  of  Greece.  And  oh,  may  our  thoughts  always  dwell 
in  heaven  with  a  thousand  times  more  delight  and  interest 
than  theirs  did  in  Greece ! " 

The  extracts  from  his  journal  are  continued :  — 


184          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

"Wednesday,  October  28.  I  was  visited  to-day  by  three 

Armenian  bishops.  One  of  them  was  Bishop  of ,  near 

Aleppo  ;  the  other  two  were  from  the  party  of  the  patriarch 
here,  one  of  them  being  his  chief  secretary.  The  conversa 
tion  turned  on  what  was  moral,  and  what  merely  ceremonial, 
in  the  institutions  of  religion.  They  all  agreed  with  me  that 
in  Christianity  the  mode,  the  outward  form,  was  comparatively 
nothing,  while  the  spirit  was  every  thing.  Every  thing  in 
the  institutions  of  Christ  which  pertained  to  the  ceremonial 
part  was,  I  told  them,  left  unprescribed,  to  be  accommodated 
to  the  customs  of  different  countries,  and  the  changed  state 
of  society  of  different  periods.  In  the  Lord's  Supper,  for 
instance,  not  a  word  was  said  at  what  hour  it  must  be  ob 
served,  whether  morning,  noon,  or  night ;  in  what  way, 
whether  standing,  sitting,  or  kneeling ;  how  often,  whether 
once  a  year,  once  a  month,  once  a  week,  once  a  day,  or  sev 
eral  times  a  day  ;  in  what  place,  whether  in  a  '  large  upper 
room '  or  on  the  lower  floor.  In  fact,  every  thing  ceremonial 
about  the  institution  was  left  altogether  undefined.  The 
great  thing  required  was  to  do  it  in  remembrance  of  Christ. 

"  So  of  prayer.  We  are  required  to  make  known  our 
requests  unto  God;  but  we  are  not  told  whether  we  are 
to  do  it  standing,  kneeling,  or  lying  prostrate  on  the  ground. 
Every  thing  outward  and  ceremonial  about  it  is  entirely  over 
looked,  as  not  worth  a  straw  in  comparison  with  the  inward 
and  the  spiritual  frame  of  the  worshipper. 

"  But  how  different  from  this  are  the  requirements  of  the 
Koran  !  and  how  different  every  false  religion  in  the  world ! 
In  all  false  religions  the  mode,  the  form,  is  in  general  every 
thing.  Every  ceremony  is  defined  with  as  much  minuteness 
and  accuracy  as  though,  like  a  medical  prescription,  it  had 
some  intrinsic  efficacy  in  itself;  and,  instead  of  being  re 
garded  as  means  designed  merely  to  produce  a  moral  effect, 
was  regarded  as  efficacious  in  proportion  to  the  precise  arid 
punctilious  exactness  with  which  the  external  rite  should  be 
performed. 

"  So  in  regard  to  the  etiquette  of  the  royal  palace.  The 
forms  of  behavior  are  prescribed  ;  there  must  be  a  punctil 
ious  attention  to  exactness ;  ceremony  is  every  thing ;  for 
the  Sultan  looketh  only  on  the  outward  appearance,  and  can 
command  nothing  further.  But  God  is  a  Spirit  who  looketh 
on  the  heart,  and  the  service  He  requireth  is  spiritual ;  and 
it  may  be  observed  in  general  that  whenever  this  truth  is 


WORK    ADVANCING.  185 

forgotten,  and  the  moral  effect  of  any  institution  of  Christ  is 
lost  sight  of  by  men,  the  ceremonial  part  is  in  exact  propor 
tion  magnified  by  them. 

"  I  afterwards  conversed  with  them  on  the  importance  of 
their  doing  just  what  John  the  Baptist  did,  when  he  called 
upon  the  people  to  repent  of  their  sins  and  forsake  them, 
that  they  might  be  ready  to  welcome  the  spiritual  reign  of 
Christ.  They  must  do  what  Moses  did,  when  he  enjoined 
upon  the  people  to  sanctify  themselves  and  be  ready,  that  the 
Lord  might  come  down  and  do  wonders  among  them ;  for  it 
was  very  evident  to  me  that  the  darkness  was  fleeing  and  the 
true  light  beginning  to  shine  among  them,  and  that  God  was 
about  to  visit  and  bless  them. 

"November  14.  Received  a  letter  this  morning  from 
the  Bishop  of  Rhodosto,  addressing  me  as  '  the  honorable 
Father,'  '  the  illustrious  preacher  of  the  Gospel,'  &c.  He 
begs  me  to  overlook  and  forgive  a  misdemeanor  in  one  of  the 
young  Armenians  in  the  high  school  (he  had  stolen  books 
from  us),  as  he  now  appeared  penitent,  and  the  bishop  would 
himself  be  a  guarantee  for  his  good  behavior  in  time  to  come, 
if  we  would  take  him  again  into  our  service.  Another 
instance  of  the  confidence  and  kind  feelings  of  these  high 
dignitaries  of  the  church  towards  us  and  our  objects. 

"  November  30.  The  good  work  among  the  Armenians 
has  been  steadily  advancing  from  week  to  week,  and  it  now 
seems  to  be  carrying  bishops,  bankers,  every  thing  before  it. 
And  what  is  still  more  glorious,  the  work  of  regeneration  has 
absolutely  commenced,  and  is  following  right  on  after  the 
work  of  reformation.  God's  blessed  word  was  the  first  in 
order,  and  now  it  is  God's  blessed  Spirit.  We  have  seen 
nothing  like  this,  nothing  to  be  compared  with  it,  since  we 
left  America,  now  almost  thirteen  years  ago. 

"December  9.  At  Hass-Keuy  called  on  Der  Kevork, 
the  learned  priest  of  whose  ordination,  together  with  that  of 
fourteen  others,  I  have  made  mention.  The  evidence  he 
gives  of  being  truly  '  a  man  after  God's  own  heart '  is  becom 
ing  more  and  more  decisive.  This  priest  has  the  charge  of  a 
school  consisting  of  three  hundred  and  seventy -five  boys,  with 
some  half  a  dozen  under-teachers.  A  class  of  twenty,  the 
finest  boys  in  the  school,  were  attending,  under  his  more  im 
mediate  direction,  to  the  critical  study  of  the  New  Testament. 
After  hearing  them  read,  construe,  and  explain,  I  expressed 
the  great  gratification  I  felt  in  seeing  them  have  in  their  own. 


186          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

hands,  read  with  their  own  eyes,  and  endeavor  to  understand 
with  their  own  judgments,  the  words  of  eternal  life.  I  then 
added  that  I  had  read  the  whole  New  Testament  through 
five  or  six  times  in  Ancient  Greek,  several  times  in  Turkish, 
Armeno-Turkish,  and  Modern  Greek,  several  times  in  Italian, 
Lathi,  and  Arabic,  and  between  fifty  and  sixty  times  in  Eng 
lish  ;  all  this  not  carelessly,  but  with  thought  and  reflection, 
and  not  only  with  attention  of  the  mind,  but  with  a  sincere 
and  prayerful  desire  of  the  heart  to  understand  it,  and  that 
the  more  I  read  it  the  better  I  liked  it.  It  was  truly  a  light 
to  our  feet  and  a  lamp  to  our  path.  It  was  my  delight  to 
read  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  God's  beloved  Son ;  to  read 
of  His  miracles,  of  His  doctrines,  of  His  love  and  power  arid 
tenderness  and  compassion.  And  when  I  was  reading  about 
Him,  how  delightful  to  stop  and  think  of  Plim,  trust  in  Him, 
learn  of  Him,  pray  to  Him,  and  love  and  praise  and  serve 
Him  !  How  delightful  to  belong  to  His  kingdom,  to  obey  all 
the  laws  of  His  empire,  and  to  observe  all  His  institutions ! 
And  to  think  that  when  we  are  removed  from  this  dark  and 
distant  and  rebellious  province  of  His  domain,  we  shall  go  to 
the  capital  city,  where  He  lives  arid  reigns  and  shows  the 
glory  which  He  had  with  the  Father  before  the  world  was. 

"  April  5,  1836.  Our  helpers  have  been  in  jeopardy.  One 
of  the  boldest  and  strongest  of  them,  who  talked  a  great 
deal,  arid  whose  arguments  no  one  could  confute,  was  accused 
by  a  priest  of  being  an  infidel,  and  was  publicly  denounced 
ai  the  church.  All  Constantinople,  in  consequence,  was  in  an 
uproar  ;  the  noise  was  prodigious,  and  the  patriarch  appointed 
a  commission  consisting  of  two  bishops,  several  priests,  and 
several  of  the  principal  laymen  of  that  church,  to  examine 
the  accused  person.  We  were  all  extremely  anxious  for  the 
result,  as  a  blow  struck  at  this  one  would  be  a  blow  for  all 
our  helpers.  But  this  special  commission  not  only  pronounced 
him  orthodox,  but  declared  the  priest  who  had  accused  him 
of  infidelity  of  being  an  infidel  himself.  One  of  the  bishops 
afterward  patted  him  on  the  shoulder,  and  told  him  to  be  of 
good  courage,  for  he  was  not  alone,  but  many  others  were 
talking  and  still  more  were  thinking  just  like  him  on  these 
subjects.  But  while  the  matter  was  under  investigation,  the 
enemies  were  very  busy  in  ascertaining  the  number  of  these 
'evangelical  infidels,'  as  they  were  called,  and  they  had 
already  written  down  the  names  of  eight  hundred  persons. 
The  Lord  add  to  their  number  a  thousand-fold." 


LETTER   TO    DR.    PLUMER.  187 

A  letter  to  the  Rev.  William  S.  Plumer,  D.D.,  then  at 
Richmond,  Va.,  contains  an  interesting  account  of  a  confer 
ence  of  missionaries  at  Smyrna,  to  which  he  was  called  in  the 
spring  of  1836.  The  object  of  the  conference  was  to  look 
over  the  past  and  see  where  mistakes  had  been  made  or  de 
ficiencies  had  occurred,  and  to  inquire  of  one  another,  and 
together  of  the  Lord,  what  more  could  be  done  to  give  free 
course  to  the  Gospel  and  secure  its  influence  in  the  hearts  of 
the  people.  The  meeting  was  one  of  great  religious  enjoy 
ment,  and  all  present  received  a  new  impulse  in  the  cause  in 
which  they  were  engaged,  and  new  encouragement  to  go  for 
ward.  The  letter  is  given  entire  :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  April  4,  1836. 

REV.  AND  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  am  indebted  to  you  for  several 
letters,- — the  last  bearing  date  "Washington  City,  Sept.  14, 
1835,"  and  though  I  cannot  at  present  pay  you  so  much  as 
even  the  interest,  yet  it  may  be  some  satisfaction  to  you  to 
know  that  I  acknowledge  the  debt.  Let  me  say,  too,  that 
all  your  drafts  in  favor  of  those  recommended  to  my  hospi 
tality  have  been  duly  honored  at  sight,  nor  do  I  anticipate 
the  necessity  of  ever  protesting  any  such  bills  of  yours,  in 
whose  favor  soever  they  may  be  drawn. 

I  returned  a  few  days  since  from  the  meeting  of  the  "  Gen 
eral  Assembly  "  at  Smyrna,  and  a  most  interesting  session  we 
had.  We  were  all  of  the  same  mind  and  the  same  judgment, 
and  the  most  perfect  unanimity,  of  course,  prevailed.  Scarcely 
a  dissenting  voice  was  heard  on  any  subject.  This  was  the 
more  remarkable,  as  we  have  occupied  different  and  distant 
stations,  and  were  in  general  ignorant  of  each  other's  partic 
ular  views  as  to  the  best  course  to  be  pursued  in  our  efforts 
to  regenerate  these  dead  churches.  Our  meetings  for  busi 
ness  commenced  usually  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning.  At 
six  o'clock  almost  every  morning  I  met  the  children  of  the 
mission  and  other  families,  and  endeavored  to  bring  them  all, 
every  one  of  them,  into  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  Almost  every 
evening  we  had  social  prayer-meetings,  which  were  truly 
precious.  Much  of  the  conversation  was  about  Christ  and 
heaven.  Whatever  subject  was  introduced,  it  was  almost 
sure  in  the  end  to  run  into  heaven.  And  frequently,  when 
the  meeting  was  declared  to  be  finished,  we  would  all  sit 


188  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

down,  and  go  to  talking  again,  till  some  one  would  say, 
"Arise,  let  us  go  hence." 

What  gave  peculiar  interest  to  the  occasion  was,  that  four 
of  the  oldest  missionaries  of  the  Board  in  these  countries,  who 
have  not  all  met  before  for  many  years,  were  present,  viz., 
the  Rev.  Messrs.  King,  Temple,  Bird,  and  myself.  Mr.  Bird 
was  my  fellow-student  at  the  Theological  Seminary,  my 
fellow-passenger  from  America,  and  my  fellow-laborer  for 
several  }^ears  in  Syria,  but  I  had  not  seen  him  or  his  family 
before  for  six  years.  Mr.  King  was  also  with  us,  both  at 
the  Theological  Seminary  and  in  Syria  ;  but  since  either  of  us 
had  had  an  opportunity  before  of  bowing  the  knee  with  him 
at  the  throne  of  mercy,  his  fellow-traveller  and  companion 
in  labor,  our  beloved  brother  Fisk,  had  gone  to  bow  with  the 
ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  round  about  the  throne 
above,  near  eleven  years  ago.  Mr.  Temple  was  my  classmate 
at  the  academy,  at  college,  and  at  the  Theological  Seminary,  — • 
in  all  nine  years,  the  last  seven  of  which  he  was  my  room-mate. 
We  ate  at  the  same  table,  and  slept  in  the  same  bed,  and 
prayed  in  the  same  closet ;  twice,  also,  we  had  been  fellow- 
laborers  at  Malta ;  but  five  years  had  elapsed  since  our  last 
meeting.  We  had  no  expectation  of  all  meeting  together 
again,  till  we  should  meet  in  another  and  very  different  part 
of  the  empire  of  Christ,  even  the  capital  of  His  glorious  king 
dom.  And  as  —  excepting  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lowndes,  of  Corfu, 
who  is  of  the  London  Missionary  Society  —  we  four  were 
the  oldest  missionaries  this  side  of  India  of  any  society  what 
ever,  we  could  not  but  feel  that  the  time  for  putting  off  this 
tabernacle  was  in  all  probability,  at  least  for  some  of  us, 
drawing  nigh.  You  can  easily  imagine,  then,  that  the  season 
throughout  must  have  been  one  of  most  tender  interest  to  us. 
At  the  close  of  all,  we  united  in  celebrating  the  love  of  Christ 
at  His  table,  and  then  parted,  hoping  to  see  each  other  again 
in  that  world  where  our  hearts  will  rejoice,  and  our  joy 
no  man  can  take  from  us. 

I  ought  to  add  that,  in  addition  to  this  renewing  of  old 
acquaintances  (among  whom  should  be  included  the  Rev. 
Messrs.  Arundel,  Lewis,  and  Jetter,  with  Mr.  Barker),  I  had 
the  happiness  also  of  forming  some  new  ones,  among  whom 
I  must  not  omit  to  mention  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Adger  and  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Houston,  all  of  whom  are  from  your  section  of  the 
country,  and  the  two  latter  from  your  own  State,  and  all  of 
whom  are  exceedingly  dear  to  us.  We  had  also  with  us,  to 


A  MISSIONARY'S  WIFE.  189 

assist  by  his  counsels  and  prayers  during  the  whole  session, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Paxton,  who  must  be  known  personally  to  many 
of  your  good  people  in  Richmond,  and  who  appears  to  be 
truly  a  man  of  God.  Oh,  I  love  to  see  '  the  North  give  up, 
and  the  South  not  keep  back,'  in  more  senses  than  one. 

Speaking  of  the  South  reminds  me  that  I  have  recently  read 
the  memoir  of  your  good  Dr.  Rice.  With  his  views  on  most 
of  the  absorbing  subjects  of  the  day  I  must  say  I  am  de 
lighted.  Pie  is  always  sober,  practical,  and  not  afraid  to 
follow  the  Bible,  wherever  it  may  lead  him.  This  is  what 
I  like.  May  the  great  Head  of  the  church  raise  up  many 
such  ! 

But  I  must  close.  I  do  not  know  that  I  have  any  acquain 
tances  in  your  part  of  Virginia,  unless  Captain  Skinner  may 
be  in  your  vicinity,  of  whom  we  cherish  a  grateful  remem 
brance.  But  you  can,  if  you  please,  "  salute  every  saint  in 
Christ  Jesus,"  and  say  that  "  we  are  members  one  of  another." 

The  Lord  bless  you,  my  brother,  and  finally  bring  you  and, 
through  your  instrumentality,  many  with  you  to  His  eter 
nal  kingdom !  And  thus  also  may  He  bring, 

Yours  most  truly  and  affectionately, 

W.  GOODELL. 

His  views  in  regard  to  the  qualifications  of  a  missionary's 
wife  having  been  asked  by  the  Board  at  home,  he  communi 
cated  them  in  full.  Only  one  particular  is  here  given,  as 
not  inappropriate  to  the  discussion  of  some  points  that 
occupy  public  attention  at  the  present  day,  and  as  having 
universal  application. 

"  The  very  highest  qualifications  which  a  married  woman 
can  possess  are  those  which  fit  her  to  discharge  the  duties 
of  a  wife  and  a  mother. 

"  The  exceptions  to  this  rule  are  so  rare,  that  the  Bible 
takes  no  notice  of  them.  On  the  contrary,  it  everywhere 
teaches  that  her  first  duties  belong  to  her  own  family. 
Her  place  is  in  the  centre  of  domestic  cares ;  and  her  atten 
tion  to  public  duties  is  always  to  be  regulated  by  a  due 
regard  to  her  domestic  claims.  Such  is  the  rule ;  and  if 
there  be  an  exception  to  it,  the  wife  of  the  missionary  in 
this  part  of  the  world  is  not  likely  to  be  the  one.  In  these 
countries,  where  so  much  more  can  be  done  by  living  than 


190          FORTY  YEARS  IN   THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE. 

by  preaching,  a  missionary  family  is,  or  ought  to  be,  the  very 
nursery  of  heaven.  His  house  is  necessarily  large,  to  ac 
commodate  translators,  teachers,  and  inquirers.  He  has 
apartments  consecrated  especially  to  prayer  and  praise,  to 
reading  the  word  of  God,  and  to  preaching  the  glad  tidings 
of  the  kingdom.  He  is  visited  by  all  sorts  of  persons,  from 
all  parts  of  the  country,  at  all  hours  of  the  day.  And  ought 
not  his  family  to  be  a  pattern  of  whatsoever  things  are  lovely, 
honest,  and  of  good  report  ?  Ought  not  his  family  to  exhibit 
all  that  comfort,  and  order,  and  neatness,  and  harmony,  and 
purity,  and  frugality,  and  punctuality,  and  wisdom,  and  piety, 
and  good  sense,  and  well-formed  habits,  for  which  the  domes 
tic  constitution  is  so  happily  designed  ?  In  short,  should  not 
his  family  be  such  that  it  may  be  referred  to  by  the  whole 
community  as  a  specimen  of  what  a  Christian  and  well- 
regulated  family  ought  to  be  ?  But  whether  such  a  beautiful 
example  be  exhibited  in  the  family  of  the  missionary,  or  not, 
turns  chiefly  on  the  point  whether  '  she  looketh  well  to  the 
ways  of  her  household.'  Nor  can  she  procure  the  assistance 
of  any  one  to  divide  with  her  the  care  and  responsibility  of 
all  this.  With  you  the  thing  is  easy ;  with  her,  beyond  the 
bounds  of  possibility.  Poetry  and  eloquence  in  America 
may  sing  a  rapturous  song  and  tell  a  thrilling  story  about 
her  future  labors,  but  she  will  find,  after  all,  that  her  most 
important  duties  are  those  which  are  too  common  to  be 
celebrated  in  song,  and  too  humble  to  procure  renown. 

"  And,  besides,  she  comes  to  a  country  where  the  customs 
are  Oriental,  where  the  sphere  of  woman  has  from  time 
immemorial  been  much  more  limited  than  with  us  in  Amer 
ica,  and  where  she  will  get  little  credit  to  herself  by  going 
out  of  what  even  the  Bible  itself  seems  to  recognize  as  her 
proper  sphere.  The  people  of  the  country  are  quick-sighted. 
They  are  by  no  means  unapt  at  quoting  Scripture,  whenever 
they  can  make  it  answer  their  purpose.  Arid  they  will  not 
be  able  to  see  how  her  zeal  is  according  to  knowledge,  if  she 
neglect  her  own  in  providing  for  others.  They  will  not  be 
able  to  see  how  she  is  fit  to  be  trusted  with  the  children  of 
others,  if  she  does  not  appear  to  know  how  to  manage  her 
own ;  nor  how  she  can  be  capable  of  teaching  them  their  duty 
to  God,  if  she  fail  in  teaching  them  how  to  conduct  them 
selves  in  the  presence  of  their  fellow-men.  And  you  must 
know  that  much  more  attention  is  usually  paid  to  dress  and 
mariners  here  than  in  America." 


ORIENTAL    CURIOSITIES.  191 

To  a  lady  in  the  United  States,  who  had  written  to  him 
asking  for  Oriental  curiosities,  he  wrote :  — 

"  Had  I  received  your  letter  a  few  hours  sooner,  I  could 
and  would  have  sent  you  a  few  curiosities  from  Jerusalem, 
for  I  was  then  making  up  a  parcel  for  various  friends  in  Amer 
ica.  But  now  I  have  not  so  much  as  an  olive  leaf  from  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  nor  a  pebble  from  the  Brook  Kedron,  nor 
a  wild-flower  from  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane,  nor  a  thistle 
from  the  Plains  of  Bethlehem,  nor  a  petrifaction,  of  which 
there  are  some  beautiful  specimens,  from  Mount  Carmel, 
nor  a  branch  from  the  stately  cedars  of  Lebanon,  nor  a  sin 
gle  bit  of  asphaltum  from  the  Dead  Sea.  No ;  the  only 
thing  I  now  have  from  Palestine  is  a  small  stick  which  was 
cut  on  the  banks  of  the  Jordan.  And  this,  if  you  please,  you 
can  have  made  into  something  which,  without  one  atom  of 
superstition,  you  may  keep,  in  order  to  help  give  a  freshness 
and  reality  to  the  history  of  all  those  interesting  scenes  which 
took  place  on  the  banks  of  that  sacred  stream.  Indeed,  you 
can,  if  you  please,  suppose  that  our  blessed  Lord  Himself  stood 
by  the  parent  stO3k  when  at  His  baptism  He  prayed,  and  a 
dove  came  upon  His  head,  and  from  the  opening  heavens  a 
voice  broke  forth  in  the  hearing  of  the  astonished  multitude, 
'  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased.' 

"  Indeed,  my  dear  friend,  no  Biblical  scholar  or  enlightened 
Christian  can  visit  Palestine  without  a  feeling  more  deep  and 
vivid  than  before,  that  every  word  of  the  Bible  is  true.  Not 
only  is  the  country  the  same,  the  mountains  and  valleys  and 
rocks,  but  the  customs  are  the  same  ;  and  the  allusions  to 
these  which  abound  in  the  Scriptures  have  a  beauty,  a 
force,  and  a  pertinency  which  none  but  an  Oriental  is  fully 
capable  of  appreciating,  and  which,  in  some  instances,  none 
but  an  Oriental  can  understand  at  all." 

To  one  of  the  missionaries  at  Broosa  he  wrote  in  a  time 
Di  peculiar  trial  and  anxiety,  occasioned  by  opposition  to  the 
truth  and  to  the  missionary  work  :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  July  4,  1836. 

MY  DEARLY  BELOVED  SISTER,  —  I  received  yours  of  the 
18th  ult.,  and  I  do  not  wonder  you  have  felt  disconsolate. 
But  "  hope  thou  in  God,  for  thou  shalt  yet  praise  Him,  who 
is  the  help  of  thy  countenance  and  thy  God." 

By  the  letter  from  Mr.  Temple,  which  I  sent  for  your 


192  FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

perusal  last  week,  and  by  the  copies  of  a  defence  of  the  mis 
sionaries,  written  by  a  Greek,  which  I  sent  you  to-day,  you 
will  learn  how  matters  are  going  on  in  that  quarter. 

It  calls,  I  think,  for  special  thanksgiving  to  God  that  this 
collision  with  the  Greek  ecclesiastics  at  Smyrna  did  not  take 
place  at  an  earlier  period  of  the  mission  there.  The  mis 
sionaries  have  now  done  so  much,  and  got  such  a  foothold, 
established  so  many  schools,  made  so  many  acquaintances, 
secured  so  many  friends,  conveyed  a  knowledge  of  the  Gos 
pel  to  so  many  minds,  and  are,  moreover,  now  able  to  make 
themselves  heard  so  extensively  through  the  public  press, 
that  it  is  thought  the  priests  will  "  prevail  nothing,"  but  will 
themselves  be  evident  losers  by  the  controversy. 

But  at  Broosa,  on  the  other  hand,  you  will,  I  fear,  be  mis 
represented,  condemned  unheard,  and  your  influence  for  the 
present  be  curtailed.  Not  that  you  are  to  be  blamed  for  the 
course  things  have  taken  ;  for  I  know  of  no  missionaries  of 
the  Board  in  whose  discretion  I  have  greater  confidence  than 
in  that  of  the  missionaries  at  Broosa  ;  and  you  have  certainly 
succeeded  in  the  good  providence  of  God  in  parrying  this 
blow  much  longer  than  I  expected  you  would.  But  4*  it  is 
impossible  (even  after  we  have  done  our  very  best)  but  that 
offences  should  come ; "  and,  when  they  do  come,  we  must 
look  to  God  for  light  and  direction,  and  endeavor  to  turn 
them  to  the  best  account  possible.  We  are  not  to  take  it  for 
granted  that  they  will  certainly  promote  the  good  cause  ;  for 
they  may  hinder  it.  They  call  to  fasting,  humiliation,  and 
prayer ;  and,  at  any  rate,  they  may  always,  and  should 
always,  be  improved  to  our  own  growth  in  grace.  I  have 
been  led  to  think  they  are  sometimes  designed  especially  for 
our  own  good,  —  are  sent  on  purpose  to  make  us  more  hum 
ble  and  more  heavenly  minded,  and  to  quicken  us  in  our 
way  to  heaven.  And  though  it  is  exceedingly  humiliating  to 
think  that  the  people  must  remain  still  longer  in  ignorance, 
and  die  in  their  sins,  in  order  that  the  missionary  may  "  not 
perish,  but  have  eternal  life,"  yet  these  views  I  expressed  to 
my  brethren  in  Smyrna  at  the  general  meeting  last  spring ; 
for  I  saw  evidence  that  they  had  all  been  benefited  by  the 
various  trials  and  afflictions  through  which  they  had  been 
called  to  pass,  —  each  one  tried  in  the  very  point  where  his 
character  needed  most  refining. 

But  whoever  may  be  the  instruments,  or  whatever  may  be 
the  particular  design  of  Providence,  they  may,  as  I  said 


STRIKING    COINCIDENCES.  193 

before,  always  be  improved  to  our  own  good,  —  frequently 
also  to  the  benefit  of  some  others,  —  while  sometimes  they 
are  manifestly  overruled,  as  well  as  intended,  for  the  good  of 
the  cause.  One  thing  is  certain,  viz.,  that  the  great  Head 
of  the  church  has  no  less  authority  and  control  in  the  king 
dom  of  providence  than  He  has  in  the  kingdom  of  grace, 
and  that  our  trials  are  no  less  the  appointments  of  His  wis 
dom  than  our  salvation  is  the  fruit  of  His  love.  In  each  case 
it  is  He  Himself,  acting  in  His  own  official  character  as  Kiiig 
in  Zion.  The  hand  that  weighs  and  portions  out  to  us  the 
former  is  the  same  kind  hand  that  dispenses  so  freely  the 
blessings  of  the  latter.  And,  however  bitter  the  cup  we  have 
to  drink,  we  are  sure  it  contains  nothing  unnecessary  or 
unkind ;  and  we  should  take  it  from  His  hand  with  as  much 
meekness  as  we  accept  of  eternal  life  with  thankfulness. 

In  fine,  our  disappointments  and  trials  are  not  to  he  re 
garded  as  a  chapter  of  accidents,  but  they  are  to  be  looked 
011,  and  looked  for,  as  dispensations  which  are  suited  to  our 
particular  state,  and  by  which  God  will  either  mend  us  or 
ruin  us. 

Be  assured  you  have  the  prayers  and  sympathy  of  us  all ; 
and,  as  I  have  had  more  of  such  experience,  perhaps  I  may 
say,  especially  of  your  friend  and  brother, 

W.    GOODELL. 

He  records  in  his  journal,  under  date  of  Oct.  1, 1836,  some 
striking  coincidences :  — 

"  It  is  a  very  remarkable  circumstance  that,  my  brother 
Joel,  in  Ohio,  and  myself,  in  Constantinople,  both  of  us,  on 
the  10th  of  May,  1835,  the  very  day  of  our  sister  Lydia's 
death  in  New  York,  preached  from  this  text,  *  There  re- 
maineth  therefore  a  rest  to  the  people  of  God,'  —  both  of  us 
thinking  and  preaching  and  praying  about  heaven  at  the  very 
time  of  our  sister's  entrance  there,  as  our  hope  and  trust  is. 

"  It  is  very  remarkable,  too,  that  of  our  disjointed  family 
three  should  be  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  in  three  different 
countries  ;  and  that  all  the  rest,  with  all  those  connected  with 
them  in  marriage,  should  be  members  of  the  church  of  Christ. 
*  Bless  the  Lord,  0  my  soul,  and  forget  not  all  His  benefits.' " 

With  all  his  calmness  and  self-possession,  there  were  times 
when  he  became  excited  with  earnest  desires  for  the  success 
9  M 


194          FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

of  his  work,  and  the  triumph  of  the  truth.  This  desire  only 
became  more  intense  as  he  saw  the  day  approaching.  To  a 
missionary  at  another  station  he  wrote,  under  date  of  Jan. 
14,  1837:  — 

"  Light  is  kindling  up  here  and  there.  Truth  is  prevail 
ing.  Priests  arid  people,  in  some  cases,  sit  up  all  night  to 
talk  about  the  glorious  Gospel.  I  am  sometimes  quite  fever 
ish  with  excitement.  I  want  to  jump  ;  I  want  to  fly ;  I  want 
a  thousand  tongues  to  proclaim  the  unsearchable  riches  of 
Christ.  We  are  unable  to  do  the  ten  thousandth  part  we 
want  to  do.  We  do  little  more  than  stand  and  see  the  salva 
tion  of  God." 

To  the  Rev.  Mr.  Houston,  who  was  considering  the  ques 
tion  of  duty  in  regard  to  remaining  at  the  island  of  Scio, 
or  seeking  a  more  promising  field  of  labor  on  the  mainland 
in  Greece,  he  wrote,  Feb.  4,  1837  :  — 

"Mr  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  It  is  my  decided  opinion,  and 
it  is  the  opinion  also  of  some  of  my  brethren  here  (I  have 
not  had  time  to  consult  them  all),  that  you  would  be  justi 
fied,  should  you  '  enter  into  a  ship,  and  pass  over  to  the  other 
side,'  though  not  to  your  '  own  city.'  And  even  your  very 
departure  might  be  a  greater  blessing  to  the  people  of  Scio 
than  your  presence  has  been.  They  might  blame  them 
selves,  and  blame  one  another,  and  deeply  regret  the 
privileges  they  had  lost ;  and  thus  be  prepared  better  to 
appreciate  and  improve  those  they  might  enjoy  in  time 
to  come.  But,  in  shaking  off  the  dust  of  your  feet,  be 
careful  to  do  it  in  the  most  Christian  manner  possible.  It 
should  be  a  very  solemn  season,  a  season  of  great  tender 
ness  and  prayerfulness.  In  taking  your  final  leave  of 
your  neighbors  and  acquaintances,  you  should  endeavor 
to  give  them  the  decided  impression  that  you  love  all  the 
people  of  the  island,  and  feel  most  kindly  towards  them; 
that  you  had  no  object  in  coming  but  to  do  them  good  ; 
that  you  leave  them,  having  great  sorrow  in  your  heart, 
but  that  you  go  for  the  sake  of  carrying  the  blessings  they 
undervalue  to  others  who  call  for  them,  and  will  gladly 
avail  themselves  of  them.  And  when  you  '  have  gone  over 
Greece,  and  have  no  more  place  in  those  parts,'  come  to 
Constantinople.  We  need  a  helper  exceedingly,  arid  have 
recently  written  for  one  expressly  for  the  Greeks  here." 


MISREPRESENTATION.  195 

The  extracts  from  his  journal  are  continued :  — 

"  March  5,  1837.  Some  time  last  week  one  of  the  hermits 
put  up  a  paper  on  the  door  of  the  Greek  church  in  Pera, 
calling  upon  all  the  people  to  rise  and  utterly  exterminate 
the  corrupter  of  their  youth  and  the  destroyer  of  their 
religion.  One  of  the  principal  citizens,  passing  by,  saw  it, 
and  informed  the  bishop,  in  order  that  it  might  be  immedi 
ately  taken  down ;  for,  said  he,  should  it  come  to  the  ears 
of  the  Sultan,  as  no  individual  is  specified,  he  will  very 
naturally  think  himself  intended.  But,  though  the  paper 
was  forthwith  removed,  yet  it  produced  so  much  sensation 
that  many  protected  Greeks  went  to  church  on  Sunday, 
prepared,  in  case  priest  E.  should  denounce  any  individual 
as  a  heretic,  to  drag  the  preacher  from  the  pulpit,  and  turn 
him  into  the  street.  The  Sublime  Porte  also  subsequently 
took  cognizance  of  the  paper,  interpreting  it,  of  course,  in 
the  very  natural  way  suggested  above ;  and  the  Greek 
patriarch  found  it  very  difficult  to  give  a  satisfactory  account 
of  the  business.  Some  of  the  Greeks  were  for  accusing 
our  own  quiet  selves  as  the  authors  of  the  paper,  but  no  one 
dared  to  do  it  openly  and  formally. 

"  March  17.  Met  in  the  street  an  Armenian  teacher, 
who  occasionally  visited  us  last  summer,  and  who  had  so 
much  to  say  against  superfluous  worship.  He  asked  whether 
our  high  school  had  commenced  since  the  plague.  I  told 
him  that  our  school  no  longer  existed,  but  that  there  would 
be  another  and  better  one  at  Hass  Keuy.  He  expressed 
surprise,  and  asked  me  to  explain  myself.  As  he  appeared 
to  be  perfectly  ignorant  of  all  that  had  transpired,  I  began 
by  saying,  '  You  are  doubtless  aware  that  the  chief  men 
of  the  nation  became  a  little  alarmed  about  our  high  school, 
not  knowing  what  might  grow  out  of  it,  and  therefore  '  — 

"  '  Aman  !  Aman  ! '  (Alas  !  Alas  !)  he  interrupted,  '  I  under 
stand  it  all.  Aman  !  Aman  ! ' 

"  *  But  stop  a  moment,'  said  I,  '  and  you  will  see  that  it  is 
all  ordered  right,  and  has  turned  out  well.  You  do  not 
underst '  — 

"  *  Aman  !  Aman  ! '  he  again  interrupted.  '  I  understand 
it  all ;  my  worst  fears  are  realized.  Aman  !  Aman  ! ' 

And  thus  he  left  me,  crying,  as  long  as  I  could  hear  him, 
f  Aman !  Aman  ! '  which,  for  aught  I  know,  he  is  repeating 
to  this  day. 


196    FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH  -EMPIRE. 

"April  4.  Being  in  the  city  to-day,  a  beggar,  sitting  by 
the  wayside,  asked  charity  for  the  sake  of  the  mediation  of 
Christ.  I  do  not  recollect  of  ever  hearing  a  beggar  use  this 
plea  before.  If  Christians,  they  generally  ask  for  the  sake 
of  the  Virgin,  or  some  of  the  saints.  In  the  present  instance 
the  poor  man's  plea  was  not  in  vain  ;  for  I  stopped  at  once, 
and  gave  him  something,  and  I  resolved  to  give  something, 
if  in  my  power,  to  every  beggar  who  asked  in  the  name  of 
Christ,  recollecting  that  blessed  promise  of  His,  that  *  what 
soever  we  ask  in  His  name,  it  shall  be  given  us.'  And  if  His 
name  had  influence  with  me,  how  much  more  influence  does 
it  have  in  heaven  !  I  treat  it  with  some  respect,  but  in 
heaven  it  is  regarded  and  treated  according  to  its  infinite 
worthiness. 

"May  20.  I  was  visited  to-day  by  a  lady  of  the  papal 
Armenian  Church,  who  wished  to  change  her  religion  and 
become  Protestant.  She  could  read,  and  appeared  intelli 
gent  ;  had  heard  much  of  our  dwelling  in  love,  without  ever 
quarrelling  and  fighting  with  one  another,  and  many  other 
wonderful  things  ;  and  she  begged  to  be  admitted  to  our 
communion,  and  unite  all  her  interests,  temporal  as  well  as 
spiritual,  with  ours.  After  assuring  her  that  our  kingdom 
was  not  of  this  world,  and  that  we  were  building  up  no 
church  here,  nor  forming  any  ecclesiastical  organization 
whatever,  I  entered  into  conversation  with  her  at  once  on 
the  great  and  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  —  on  our 
being  justified  by  faith  ;  our  being  united  to  Christ ;  His 
dwelling  in  us  ;  manifesting  Himself  unto  us  as  He  does  not 
unto  the  world  ;  drawing  oar  hearts  away  from  earthly  vani 
ties  ;  and  enabling  us  to  live  in  His  kingdom,  and  to  eat 
bread  in  His  kingdom,  even  though  all  around  us  belong  to 
the  kingdom  of  darkness  and  the  kingdom  of  sin.  There 
was  something  suspicious  about  the  woman  ;  but  whatever 
was  her  motive  in  coming,  she  heard  many  things  which 
seemed  to  surprise  and  impress  her,  and  which  may  be  the 
means,  under  the  Holy  Spirit,  of  bringing  her  to  Christ  and 
heaven." 

To  the  Corresponding  Secretary  at  Boston  he  wrote,  May 
9,  1837  :- 

"  The  sweet  influences  of  heaven  still  descend  upon  us, 
gently,  indeed,  but  constantly,  and,  as  for  the  last  four  years, 


VISIT  TO   BROOSA.  197 

uninterruptedly ;  and  this,  perhaps,  is  better  than  a  heavy 
shower  of  short  duration  to  soften  the  dry  and  parched  earth, 
which  has  been  baked  for  centuries.  Several  Roman  Catho 
lics  have  become  hopefully  converted ;  but,  strange  to  tell, 
we  hear  not  a  word  of  opposition  from  any  quarter.  Every 
thing  betokens  a  great  revival  of  pure  and  undefiled  religion 
in  this  mighty  city;  and  we  bespeak  the  prayers  of  the 
churches,  both  for  ourselves  and  the  people.  Let  it  be 
known,  too,  that  more  apparently  can  be  done  now  by  prayer 
than  in  any  other  way.  Whoever  prays  most  helps  most. 
What  a  privilege  to  the  widow  and  the  orphan  !  " 

In  the  month  of  June,  1837,  he  made  a  visit  to  the  mis 
sion  families  at  Broosa,  of  which  he  gave  an  account  in  a 
letter  to  Oliver  Powers,  Esq.,  father  of  one  of  the  mission 
aries  :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  June  20,  1837. 

MY  VERY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  just  made  a  visit  in  person 
to  Broosa,  and  am  happy  now  to  make  another  by  letter  to 
Phillipston,  and  acknowledge  your  kind  favor,  written  on 
the  fifty-fifth  anniversary  of  your  birth,  and  received  one 
year  ago  to-day.  It  was  only  yesterday  I  returned  from  one 
of  the  most  interesting  visits  I  ever  enjoyed,  having  spent  a 
whole  week  with  the  beloved  families  at  Broosa,  and  feeling 
all  the  time  as  though  I  were  on  the  Mount  of  Transfigura 
tion.  We  talked  and  sung  and  prayed  together.  We 
walked  out  and  rode  out  and  visited  together.  We  sat 
together  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ,  and  ate  and  drank 
together  at  the  table  of  our  Lord.  And  — 

"  What  peaceful  hours  we  then  enjoyed  ! 
How  sweet  their  mem'ry  still ! " 

Both  of  those  dear  families,  I  am  happy  to  assure  you,  ap 
pear  really  to  be  living  a  heavenly  life  upon  earth.  They 
love  one  another,  and  dwell  in  God,  and  God  in  them.  Their 
homes  are  still,  clean,  quiet,  peaceful,  pleasant,  and  happy ; 
where  the  blessed  Saviour  loves  to  dwell,  and  where,  I  trust, 
He  will  always  dwell,  till  He  takes  them  up  to  dwell  always 
with  Him.  They  pray  a  great  deal  for  one  another,  for 
their  dear  friends  in  America,  and  especially  for  the  poor, 
perishing  people  around  them  ;  and  they  are  exerting  all 
about  them  an  influence  as  gentle,  yet  refreshing,  as  the  dews 


198         FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

of  heaven.  They  have  erected  the  standard  of  the  cross  at 
the  foot  of  Mount  Olympus,  which  is  seen  afar  off ;  and, 
though  the  wicked  have  clapped  their  hands  in  derision,  yet 
I  do  verily  believe  it  will  never  be  taken  down.  No  ;  thou 
sands  and  tens  of  thousands  shall  yet  flock  around  it,  and 
enjoy  the  happiness  of  Messiah's  reign. 

I  spent  the  first  night  in  one  family,  and  the  second  in  the 
other,  and  so  on  during  my  whole  stay,  and  we  were  all 
together  every  day  excepting  one.  They  gave  me  apple-pies 
made  from  American  apples  ;  pumpkin-pies  made  of  Ameri 
can  pumpkin  ;  bread  spread  over  with  American  butter ; 
cakes  fried  in  American  lard  ;  boiled  corn  with  molasses, 
after  the  American  fashion  ;  together  with  American  cheese, 
American  currants,  and  American  spruce-beer,  —  all  "  sancti 
fied  by  the  word  of  God  and  prayer ; "  and  we  felt  that  we 
were  indeed  "  eating  bread  in  the  kingdom  of  God." 

For  the  dried-apple  sent  me  by  your  beloved  daughter, 
from  the  old  farm  in  Templeton,  will  you  return  her  my 
warmest  thanks  ?  I  brought  it  with  me  on  my  return  from 
Broosa,  and  wish  to  assure  her  that  it  was  very  acceptable. 

Will  you  remember  me  also  to  your  new  minister  ?  I 
once  saw  him,  though  he  may  not  recollect  me.  May  he 
have  an  unction  from  the  Holy  One,  and  his  labors  be  greatly 
blessed ! 

I  almost  forgot  to  say  that  while  at  Broosa  I  rode  out  to 
see  the  spot  where  your  beloved  children  will  probably  find 
their  last  resting-place.  It  is  very  retired  and  romantic, 
away  from  the  noise  of  men ;  and  a  sweeter  spot  one  need 
not  desire  to  lie  in  till  the  bright  morning  of  the  resur 
rection. 

Mrs.  Goodell  unites  in  Christian  love  to  all  your  dear 
family.  Will  you  remember  us  and  our  six  little  ones  in 
your  prayers  ? 

Yours  truly  and  affectionately, 

W.  GOODELL. 

In  a  communication  to  the  Board,  he  related  some  of  the 
incidents  of  his  journey,  which  are  inserted  as  showing  the 
condition  of  the  interior  and  the  character  of  the  govern 
ment  :  — 

"Constantinople,  July  25,  1837.  I  left  this  for  Broosa 
on  the  7th  of  June,  and  returned  on  the  19th.  Broosa  is 


JOURNEY    HOMEWARD.  199 

about  twenty  miles  from  Mondania,  which  is  a  seaport  town, 
situated  on  the  southern  shore  of  the  Marmora  ;  and,  as  the 
Sea  of  Marmora  is  here,  including  the  gulf,  full  sixty  miles 
across,  Broosa  cannot  be  less  than  eighty  miles  from  Con 
stantinople.  I  left  home  at  five  o'clock  in  the  evening  in  an 
open  boat,  and  arrived  at  Broosa  on  horseback  before  the 
middle  of  the  following  day. 

"  The  return  from  Broosa  to  Constantinople  is  often  a 
more  serious  matter  ;  for,  as  the  north  are  the  prevailing 
winds,  it  is  necessary  in  such  cases  to  row  all  the  way  back  ; 
and,  should  the  wind  be  strong,  a  detention  at  Mondania,  or 
at  some  place  (perhaps  an  uninhabited  one)  on  the  way,  may 
be  the  consequence.  This  has  happened  to  myself  more  than 
once ;  and  it  requires  all  the  patience  one  can  command  to 
keep  himself  quiet  in  a  place  where  he  can  do  nothing,  enjoy 
nothing,  and  perchance  find  nothing  to  eat. 

"  On  the  present  occasion  I  was  detained  from  a  cause  of 
a  still  more  serious  nature.  An  order  had  just  come  from 
Constantinople  to  Mondania  for  a  hundred  Greeks ;  and,  as 
it  appeared  they  were  designed  for  the  Sultan's  navy,  they 
were  particularly  sought  for  from  among  the  boatmen.  As 
might  be  expected,  therefore,  the  boatmen  fled  in  every 
direction,  and,  as  they  were  all  Greeks,  not  a  boat  could,  of 
course,  be  found.  I  went  to  the  governor  ;  but  he  only 
exhorted  me  to  patience.  The  plague  was  raging  in  the 
place,  and  every  hour  seemed  to  me  as  long  as  a  day.  The 
miserable  coffee-shop  where  I  was  staying,  and  where  nothing 
save  thick,  muddy  coffee  could  be  obtained,  was  filled  day 
and  night  with  filthy,  lounging  Turks.  The  impressment  of 
young  Greeks  was  going  on,  and  the  mothers  and  sisters 
were  assembled  before  the  governor's  house,  weeping  and 
lamenting  the  fate  of  their  sons  and  brothers.  As  I  passed 
by  repeatedly,  I  said  unto  them,  '  Weep  not ; '  but  my  sym 
pathy  was  impotent.  Oh,  how  unlike  His  who  could  dry 
the  mourner's  tear ! 

"  At  length,  on  the  third  day,  the  governor,  not  being  able 
to  seize  any  more,  put  them  all,  forty  in  number,  into  a  small 
craft  of  the  country  to  send  them  to  Constantinople.  There 
were,  besides,  two  criminals,  who  had  been  taken  up  for  coun 
terfeit  ing  money,  and  who  were  expecting  nothing  less  than 
the  gallows.  Several  Armenians  and  Turks,  similarly  situ 
ated  with  myself,  also  took  passage.  And,  not  knowing  when 
there  might  be  another  opportunity  for  leaving  the  place,  I 


200          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

thought  best  to  take  passage  with  them,  although  I  feared, 
on  the  one  hand,  that  the  plague  might  break  out  among  us, 
and,  on  the  other,  that  the  prisoners  might  mutiny,  kill  the 
guard,  take  possession  of  the  boat,  and  carry  me  I  knew  not 
whither.  We  were  in  all  sixty  souls,  crowded  close  together. 
But  I  secured  a  place  for  myself  in  the  aftermost  part  by  the 
tiller,  where,  although  I  had  not  sufficient  room  to  stretch 
myself,  I  was  in  some  measure  isolated. 

"  I  was  on  board  when  those  who  had  been  impressed 
were  brought  from  the  prison.  They  were  pinioned  and 
chained  two  together.  Their  mothers  and  other  female 
relatives  rushed  to  the  water's  edge  to  give  them  the  last 
embrace.  Their  cries  rent  the  air.  One  mother  fainted 
away  ;  another  tore  the  flesh  with  her  teeth  from  off  her 
own  arm ;  another  threw  herself  into  the  sea,  and  was  pulled 
out  by  the  soldiers.  Some  of  the  prisoners,  too,  sobbed  and 
wept  like  children,  and  some  danced  and  sung,  while  the 
tears  were  still  streaming  down  their  cheeks.  As  I  sat  there, 
I  literally  i  groaned  in  the  spirit  and  was  troubled.'  I  was 
*  pained  at  my  very  heart.'  I  tried  to  speak  some  word  of 
comfort,  but  my  voice  faltered,  and  I  wept  freely.  At  last 
I  was  able  to  say  to  the  young  men,  '  Fear  not.  Put  your 
trust  in  God.  Commit  all  your  ways  to  Him.  Cast  all 
your  cares  upon  Him.  In  all  the  kingdoms  of  this  world 
there  is  more  or  less  of  oppression  and  wrong  and  suffering ; 
but  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ  there  is  none.  Let  us  all 
belong  to  His  blessed  kingdom,  and  we  shall  be  happy  for 
ever.' 

"  We  left  Mondania  about  the  middle  of  the  day  on  Satur 
day,  and  within  three  hours  all  the  fresh  water  on  board 
was  consumed.  As  we  were  then  tacking  to  double  the 
Cape  of  Boor-Boornoo,  the  captain  ran  ashore  with  the  boat 
to  take  in  more ;  but  by  the  next  morning  this  also  was 
spent,  together  with  all  the  bread.  All  that  day  we  were 
without  water,  and  the  poor  men  had  nothing  but  olives  to 
eat,  and  I  myself  but  little  more. 

"  Early  on  Monday  morning  we  reached  Constantinople, 
and  preparations  were  immediately  made  for  presenting  the 
young  men  before  the  Capudan  Pasha.  Whether  they  were 
to  be  employed  in  the  Sultan's  service  for  life  ;  whether  they 
were  to  receive  any  adequate  pay ;  whether  they  would  ever 
be  permitted  to  visit  their  friends ;  whether  they  would  be 
tempted  by  hard  treatment,  or  by  kind  offers,  to  become 


MISERABLE   PEOPLE.  201 

Mussulmans,  —  were  questions  which  none  present  could 
answer.  One  of  them  was  recently  married ;  one  was 
betrothed ;  one  was  the  son  of  a  priest ;  and  one  '  was  the 
only  son  of  his  mother,  and  she  a  widow.'  Oh,  what  misery 
has  sin  brought  into  this  world  !  Oh,  this  ill-fated  country  ! 
When  *  one  woe  is  past,  behold  another  woe  cometh  quickly/ 
God  is  desolating  them  with  judgments,  which  follow  each 
other  in  quick  succession.  But  they  repent  not ;  they  turn 
not  from  their  evil  ways ;  there  is  scarcely  one  that  under- 
standeth,  or  that  asketh  the  cause  of  their  sufferings ;  they 
'  go  on  still  in  their  trespasses.'  This  is  the  general  charac 
ter  of  the  present  generation.  And  the  high  probability  is, 
that  they  will  never  see  the  good  land,  but  that  the  greater 
part  of  them  will  be  swept  off  by  the  desolating  judgments 
of  heaven  ;  and  that  it  will  remain  for  their  children  to  live 
in  '  the  new  heavens  and  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth  right- 


202          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

R  a  long  period  that  terrible  scourge  of  the  East,  the 
plague,  seemed  to  have  its  home  at  Constantinople. 
Like  nearly  every  other  destructive  pestilence  that  has  swept 
over  any  considerable  portion  of  the  earth,  it  had  its  origin 
in  Central  Asia,  from  whence  it  began  its  westward  march 
about  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century.  Under  the 
name  of  the  "  black  death,"  it  passed  over  into  Europe,  and 
became,  as  it  were,  domesticated  on  the  shores  of  the  Eastern 
Mediterranean.  True  to  their  belief  in  fatalism,  the  Moham 
medans  allowed  it  to  come  and  go,  without  lifting  a  finger  to 
prevent  it.  "  What  Allah  wills  must  be,"  was  one  of  the 
prominent  articles  of  their  creed.  The  Turkish  government, 
until  within  the  last  few  years,  steadily  refused  to  establish 
any  sort  of  quarantine ;  and  when  the  plague  appeared,  no 
effective  measures  were  taken  to  prevent  its  spread.  The 
consequence  was,  that  it  seldom  prevailed  anywhere  on  the 
Mediterranean  without  coming  to  Constantinople,  and  some 
times  it  remained  for  years. 

The  Greeks,  Armenians,  Jews,  &c.,  of  Constantinople 
were  far  from  regarding  it  with  the  stoical  indifference  of 
the  Mohammedans.  The  disease  was  considered  in  the 
highest  degree  contagious,  and  its  horrors  were  often  aggra 
vated  by  the  terror  and  dread  of  each  other,  that  seized  upon 
these  people  whenever  it  made  its  appearance.  If  a  person 
were  attacked  with  the  disease,  neighbors  and  friends  would 
remove  to  a  distance,  and  not  unfrequently  he  would  be  left 
to  die  unattended.  When  a  death  occurred,  public  porters, 
who  were  secluded  from  the  rest  of  the  community,  came 


THE    PLAGUE.  203 

and  took  up  the  body,  and  cast  it,  uncoffined  and  unattended, 
into  a  common  pit. 

As  a  consequence,  during  the  greatest  prevalence  of  the 
disease  all  missionary  work  among  the  people  was  sus 
pended,  the  schools  were  closed  to  prevent  its  spread,  and 
all  ordinary  intercourse  was  broken  off.  Even  the  mission 
aries  established  a  rigid  quarantine  among  themselves. 
None  but  the  heads  of  the  families  were  allowed  to  go  into 
the  street,  lest  in  some  unguarded  way  the  infection  should 
be  brought  into  their  homes.  Each  house  had  its  closet  or 
box  in  the  yard  for  fumigating  every  one  that  entered. 
Not  a  parcel  of  any  kind  was  handled  until  it  had  been 
thoroughly  smoked.  Letters  were  received  from  the  hands 
of  the  courier  with  a  pair  of  tongs,  and  disinfected  in  the 
fumes  of  sulphur,  or  by  some  other  process,  before  it  was 
considered  safe  to  open  them.  At  such  times,  to  the  mis 
sionaries  and  their  families,  there  seemed  but  a  step  between 
them  and  death.  Mr.  Goodell  once  said,  "  When  the  plague 
is  very  bad,  we  always  read  the  ninety-first  Psalm."  In  his 
annual  letter  to  his  friend,  Judge  Cooke,  in  January,  1837, 
he  gave  the  following  account  of  the  pestilence  :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  Jan.  6,  1837. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  It  is  now  near,  or  quite,  six  months 
since  the  plague  passed  beyond  its  ordinary  limits,  and  full 
three  months  since  it  became  truly  frightful ;  nor  have  its 
ravages  yet  entirely  ceased,  though  I  am  thankful  to  say 
that  it  has  received  a  check.  Could  you  look  in  upon  us 
at  such  times,  you  would  see  our  schools  suspended,  our 
meetings  broken  up,  our  intercourse  with  the  people  cut  off, 
our  plans  of  usefulness  interrupted,  our  domestics  confined 
closely  to  the  house,  and  every  being  and  every  thing 
admitted  within  doors  either  fumigated  or  made  to  pass 
thiough  fire  or  water.  You  would  see  us  in  want  of  clothes, 
but  not  daring  to  purchase  them ;  our  families  requiring  air 
and  exercise,  but  unable  to  go  abroad  for  the  purpose,  except 
at  particular  times  and  under  certain  restrictions ;  our  chil 
dren  destitute  of  shoes,  and  obliged  to  wait  till  we  can  send 
to  Russia  and  get  a  whole  box  of  them,  having  to  pay  some- 


204          FORTY  YEARS  IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

thing  extraordinary,  if  not  exorbitant,  at  the  custom-house 
in  order  to  save  the  box  from  being  opened  and  its  contents 
exposed  to  contagion.  You  would  see  one  of  the  family 
taken  ill,  perhaps  from  a  mere  cold,  and  immediately  sepa 
rated  from  all  the  others,  no  one  feeling  it  safe  to  come  in 
actual  .Contact,  till  it  can  be  ascertained  that  it  is  not  the 
plague.  You  would  see  those  of  us  who  have  to  go  abroad 
put  on  cloaks,  made  of  oil-cloth,  which  are  said  to  be  plague- 
proof,  and  which  make  us  look  more  like  walking  in  the 
midst  of  death  than  in  the  midst  of  life.  But  withal  you 
would  see  us  generally  cheerful  and  happy,  attending  to  our 
translations,  having  our  own  little  precious  meetings  together, 
and  sometimes  feeling  that  we  were  probably  within  a  day 
or  two  of  heaven. 

The  number  of  victims  cannot  be  ascertained  with  any 
degree  of  certainty.  For  a  considerable  time  the  number 
reported  averaged  from  six  to  ten  thousand  a  week.  Some 
say  one-fifth  of  all  Constantinople  has  perished.  This,  no 
doubt,  is  an  exaggeration  ;  but  it  is  agreed  on  all  hands  that 
there  has  been  no  such  plague  here  before,  since  the  memo 
rable  one  of  1812.  I  have  never  before  seen  the  streets  so 
deserted  and  the  places  of  public  concourse  so  thinned. 
Thousands  of  faces  I  used  to  see,  I  now  see  no  more.  In 
one  rich  and  influential  family  twenty-one  individuals  were 
swept  away  in  a  few  days,  the  father  "  only  having  escaped 
alone  to  tell"  the  melancholy  story.  Oh,  how  many  tens  of 
thousands  have  been  hurried  away  from  the  land  of  the  liv 
ing  !  Oh,  what  a  world  that  other  world  must  be !  But, 
blessed  be  God,  among  all  these  multitudes  I  am  happy  to 
report  one  individual  who,  it  is  believed,  was  a  Christian. 
This  was  Frans  Miiller,  a  young  German,  who  was  a  con 
stant  attendant  on  Mr.  Schaumer's  German  service.  He  is 
the  only  one  we  love  to  call  to  mind,  the  only  one  we  think 
of  with  satisfaction,  as  being  a  follower  and  disciple  of  Christ, 
and  as  belonging  to  His  everlasting  kingdom.  And  I  have 
therefore  given  you  his  name  above,  for  "  the  righteous  shall 
be  in  everlasting  remembrance." 

The  plague  has  come  nigher  to  us  this  time  than  it  ever 
came  before.  Several  of  our  acquaintances  —  some  with 
whom  we  had  but  a  day  or  two  before  had  money  transac 
tions  ;  some  who  had  been  in  the  habit  of  visiting  us,  and 
with  whom  we  had  conversed  on  the  great  subjects  of  eter 
nity  —  are  gone  to  render  up  their  account  to  God.  Had  I 


PLAGUE    PREVAILING.  205 

known  that  they  would  have  been  summoned  away  so  soon, 
I  should  have  besought  them  with  more  tenderness  and  ear 
nestness  to  be  reconciled  to  God. 

Most  distressing  cases  of  suffering  have  come  to  our 
knowledge ;  but  I  have  not  time  for  particulars.  Let  it 
suffice  to  mention  one  poor  German  woman,  who,  on  being 
seized  with  the  plague,  was  cast  out  into  the  open  street. 
She  begged  here,  and  begged  there,  but  no  one  would  receive 
her.  She  staggered  out  to  the  burying-ground,  and  lay  down 
between  two  graves,  where  she  continued  two  days  and  a 
night.  At  length  a  Mussulman  passed  by,  "  and  when  he  saw 
her,  he  had  compassion  on  her,  and  went "  and  took  her  to  a 
hospital,  and  demanded  admittance  for  her.  And  the  woman 
lived  ;  and  she  is  now  in  one  of  our  families,  receiving  Chris 
tian  instruction. 

I  have  introduced  this  subject,  my  dear  sir,  in  order  to 
bespeak  your  prayers,  and  the  prayers  of  your  church,  that 
God  would  be  pleased  to  restrain  the  vials  of  His  wrath,  and 
instead  thereof  to  open  the  windows  of  heaven  and  pour  out 
upon  us  blessings  like  a  flood.  You  see  how  our  labors  are 
interrupted  by  these  direful  judgments.  And  as  to  the  peo 
ple,  "  why  should  they  be  stricken  any  more  ?  They  will 
revolt  more  and  more."  Their  hearts  appear  to  be  hardened, 
and  not  softened  ;  and  their  insensibility  has  become  like  that 
of  the  brutes  which  perish.  It  is  not  common  for  the  Turks 
generally  to  ask,  or  speak,  or  even  think,  of  plague  and  death. 
I  have  seen  them  pass  by  or  step  over  the  dead  body  of  a 
man,  as  they  would  pass  by  or  step  over  the  dead  body  of 
any  brute  animal.  It  is  like  the  unconcern  of  the  blind,  or 
rather  the  insensibility  of  the  dead.  But  let  the  still,  small 
voice  of  Christian  instruction  and  the  whispers  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  be  only  heard,  and  men's  hearts  are  softened,  melted, 
changed ;  and  "  there  is  joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of 
God." 

Mrs.  Goodell  unites  in  Christian  salutations  to  all  your 
dear  family. 

Yours  affectionately, 

W.  GOODELL. 

In  the  summer  of  1837,  the  plague  prevailed  in  its  most 
virulent  form  ;  and  this  time  the  mission  was  not  spared.  Mr. 
Goodell  remained  with  his  family  at  Pera,  directly  onposite 
the  city,  but  the  other  mission  families  removed  to  the  dis- 


206          FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

tant  suburbs.  Mr.  Dwight  was  at  San  Stephano,  on  the  Sea 
of  Marmora,  about  ten  miles  from  the  capital,  a  place  often 
selected  for  temporary  residence  during  the  visitation  of  the 
pestilence,  on  account  of  its  remarkably  healthy  location. 
Commodore  Porter  had  made  it  his  permanent  residence, 
and  the  seat  of  the  embassy,  for  this  reason.  While  they 
were  dying  by  the  thousand  daily  at  the  capital,  even  this 
chosen  spot  was  not  now  to  be  exempt.  One  of  Mr.  Dwight's 
children  was  seized  with  the  plague,  and  died  within  forty- 
eight  hours.  Mrs.  Dwight  was  attacked  at  the  same  time, 
and,  after  lingering  several  days,  died  on  the  8th  of  July,  in 
complete  separation  from  all  Christian  friends,  excepting  her 
husband.  Of  the  sad  scenes  attending  her  death  and  burial 
Mr.  Goodell  wrote  to  his  brother  Temple,  then  at  Smyrna :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  July  2, 1837. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER  TEMPLE,  —  I  hardly  know  where 
or  how  to  begin.  You  know  we  have  a  precious  concert  for 
the  children.  Last  Thursday  was  the  day  for  little  Johnny, 
and  last  Thursday  was  little  Johnny's  last  day.  He  lived 
till,  we  may  suppose,  the  last  prayers  were  offered  for  him  by 
any  of  those  here  or  at  Broosa  who  observe  the  concert, 
and  then  "he  was  not,  for  God  took  him."  He  died  of 
the  plague  about  half-past  ten  on  Thursday  evening,  after 
forty-eight  hours'  illness.  Our  dear  sister,  Mrs.  Dwight,  then 
lay  at  death's  door  of  the  same  terrible  disease  ;  and  thirteen 
others  in  the  family  all  exposed,  besides  two  of  our  German 
missionary  brethren,  who  had  gone  down  on  a  visit  to  San 
Stephano.  On  Friday,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schauffler,  with  Mr. 
Dwight's  babe  and  its  nurse,  left  and  came  to  Mr.  Dwight's 
house  in  Pera ;  and  all  the  domestics,  except  a  pious  German 
and  his  wife,  went  into  a  tent  at  San  Stephano  with  Mr. 
Dwight's  two  eldest  children.  This  German  and  his  wife 
(the  latter  was  the  one  who  had  the  plague  last  autumn) 
stopped  with  Mr.  Dwight,  the  former  to  cook,  &c.,  and  the 
latter  to  assist  in  taking  care  of  Mrs.  Dwight.  Brother 
Dwight,  with  this  German,  carried  the  body  to  the  grave,  and 
buried  it  alone ;  and  the  German  said  he  never  heard  such  a 
prayer  before  in  all  his  life,  though  he  did  not  understand  a 
word  of  it,  as  it  was  in  English,  and  was  poured  only  into 


IN   THE   MIDST   OF    DEATH.  207 

the  ears  of  his  heavenly  Father.  It  is  a  great  grief  to  us 
that  we  cannot  be  with  him  in  this  extremity  ;  but  his  G od 
f orsaketh  him  not.  Christ  is  nigh ;  heaven  is  nigh ;  and  the 
peace  of  heaven  is  actually  there. 

Our  dear  sister.  We  are  waiting  with  impatience  the 
return  of  the  courier  •  but  we  suppose  we  have  also  offered 
our  last  prayers  for  her,  and  that  she  is  now  free  from  all 
the  imperfections  of  mortality.  In  addition  to  the  exposure 
of  all  the  others,  my  own  family  are  also  compromised,  as  I 
received  several  letters  from  brother  Dvvight  without  fumi 
gating  them,  not  having  any  suspicion  at  first  of  its  being  the 
plague.  The  Farmans  were  also  down  on  a  visit  to  San 
Stephano  after  Mrs.  Dwight  and  John  were  attacked.  So 
there  is  not  a  missionary  here,  not  even  the  travellers,  who 
may  not  be  considered  as  compromised  fully.  How  many  of 
us,  or  who  of  us,  may  be  alive  after  another  week  no  man 
can  tell !  But  you  will  lift  up  your  heart  in  prayer  to  God 
for  the  remnant  that  may  be  left. 

Your  Brother, 

W.   GOODELL. 

Some  extracts  from  his  journal,  written  during  the  preva 
lence  of  the  disease,  show  that  he  was  walking  in  the  midst 
of  death :  — 

"  May  20,  1837.  Heard  to-day  of  the  death  of  an  interest 
ing  young  man,  Tchelebi  Diamond,  from  Broosa.  He  was 
a  friend  of  our  missionary  brethren  and  sisters  there.  They 
had  conversed  with  him,  read  the  Scriptures  with  him,  prayed 
with  him,  wept  over  him,  and  sometimes  thought  him  not  far 
from  the  kingdom  of  God.  He  brought  from  Broosa  a  par 
cel  arid  a  letter  for  me,  which,  on  his  arrival  here,  he  sent  to 
me,  with  the  message  that  he  was  too  ill  to  call  himself.  The 
next  day  he  died.  It  was  the  plague.  As  I  took  the  parcel 
and  the  letter  without  fumigating  them,  I  was  of  course  com 
promised.  Indeed,  in  one  way  and  another  we  are  often 
much  exposed.  This  is  the  second  with  me  within  a  few 
days,  to  say  nothing  of  the  thousand  exposures  which  never 
come  to  our  knowledge.  Thus  by  an  unseen  hand  we  are 
preserved  from  dangers  seen  and  unseen.  Some  risks  seem 
unavordable,  if  we  would  not  shut  ourselves  up  entirely.  Our 
Greek  girls'  school  is  now  stopped  on  account  of  the  whole 
school  having  been  most  fully  compromised  by  a  case  of 


208         FORTY   YEARS  IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

plague  in  the  adjoining  house,  where  several  of  the  girls  of 
the  school  were  lodging. 

"July  21.  I  read  the  burial-service  at  the  grave  of  the 
only  son  of  Sir  P.  Malcolm,  who  died  of  the  plague  at  Mr. 
Cartwright's,  the  English  consul-general.  He  was  on  his 
way  from  India  to  England,  and  arrived  sick  from  Trebizond 
on  the  16th  inst.  Mr.  Cartwright's  house  adjoins  my  own, 
and  the  unfortunate  gentleman  occupied  a  room  which  cor- 
i:3rs  on  our  own  bedchamber.  We  have  placed  chlorine  in 
all  the  rooms  that  were  particularly  exposed ;  but  we  are 
certainly  '  in  deaths  oft/  and  are  made  to  feel  that,  '  except 
the  Lord  keep  the  city,  the  watchman  waketh  but  in  vain.' 
Most  of  the  English  merchants  have  been  compromised  in  this 
instance,  as  well  as  the  physicians,  for  the  disease  was  not  at 
first  suspected  to  be  plague.  I  myself  received  letters  which 
he  brought,  without  fumigating  them,  although  I  fumigate  in 
almost  every  instance.  And  it  is  very  remarkable  that  in 
those  instances  in  which  I  have  neglected  to  take  this  pre 
caution,  I  have  been  exposed  in  a  very  unusual  degree. 
Truly  there  is  but  a  step  between  us  and  death." 

In  writing  to  his  friend,  Judge  Cooke,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  following  year,  he  took  up  the  record  of  the  pestilence 
just  where  he  had  left  it,  giving  further  accounts  of  the  perils 
through  which  he  and  his  family  had  passed  in  the  inter 
vening  year. 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  Jan.  1,  1838. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, —  And  the  plague  did  not  stop  there,  —  1 
mean  where  I  left  it  last  year.  No ;  it  came  on  still  nigher  to  us. 
It  entered  some  of  our  own  families.  And  not  only  were  all  the 
fifteen  souls  of  those  two  families  within  the  walls  of  that  one 
house  compromised,  but  my  own  family  was  compromised 
most  fully,  for  we  were  daily  receiving  letters  from  them, 
without  taking  the  usual  precautions.  And  not  ourselves 
only,  but  Mr.  Farman,  the  English  missionary  here,  and  his 
whole  family,  were  also  exposed,  and  likewise  three  German 
missionaries,  one  with  a  wife  arid  two  children,  who  were  all 
passing  through  the  place  at  the  time,  and  two  of  whom,  as 
well  as  the  family  of  Mr.  Farman,  visited  at  Mr.  Dwight's, 
some  of  them  spending  the  night  there,  after  the  pestilence 
had  already  seized  upon  his  two  victims. 

Thus  every  missionary,  and  every  missionary  family,  of 


LOOKING    HEAVENWARD.  209 

whatever  society,  as  well  those  that  were  only  tarrying  in 
the  place  as  it  were  for  the  night  as  those  stationed  here, 
were  all  exposed  to  the  contagion  in  a  very  unusual  manner 
and  to  a  very  unusual  degree.  It  was  truly  marvellous. 
God  seemed  to  be  saying  to  us  that  He  could  dispense  with 
all  of  us  entirely,  and  carry  on  His  work  without  us.  We  all 
kept  quarantine,  not  only  .family  with  family,  but,  as  much 
as  possible,  individual  with  individual.  We  felt  that  we 
might  be  living  our  last  days  on  earth.  When  we  walked 
abroad,  and  looked  upon  the  beautiful  sky,  and  upon  the 
beautiful  scenery  around  Constantinople,  we  felt  that  we 
might  be  walking  the  streets  and  beholding  the  beautiful 
prospects  of  this  world  for  the  last  time.  And,  though  they 
never  appeared  more  beautiful  than  now,  yet  I  believe  most 
of  us  could  say,  "  Farewell,  all  ye  beautiful  prospects  !  There 
are  infinitely  more  beautiful  ones  in  the  bright  world  above ! " 
Whomever  we  met  in  the  streets,  we  felt  kindly  towards  him, 
and  prayed  for  him.  And  in  the  family,  oh,  how  kind  were 
our  looks,  and  how  tender  were  our  tones,  and  how  sweet 
were  our  words,  and  how  fervent  were  our  prayers !  In 
fine,  we  tried  to  live  together,  as  we  hoped  to  live  together 
for  ever  in  heaven.  And  it  was  no  bad  way  of  living,  I 
assure  you.  No ;  there  was  no  sadness,  no  melancholy,  no 
unhappiness  whatever  in  this  way  of  living.  Would  that  we 
could  always  live  so  !  Yea,  and  a  thousand  times  better ! 

The  sequel  you  know.  I  therefore  only  add,  to  those 
that  died  we  believe  it  was  gain,  infinite  gain !  While 
those  that  survived  lost  nothing,  nothing !  On  the  contrary, 
they  received  a  thousand-fold.  I  do  not  think  Mr.  Dwight 
ever  had  so  much  real  enjoyment  before  in  his  whole  life, 
put  it  all  together,  as  he  has  had  within  a  few  months.  His 
peace  is  like  a  river.  His  feet  are  on  a  rock,  or  rather 
The  Rock.  And  his  head  is  far  above  all  the  storms  and 
tempests  of  this  temporary  scene.  Oh,  what  a  Saviour  is 
this  of  ours !  Oh,  what  a  glorious  Gospel  is  this  of  our  Lord 
and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ! 

"  His  worth,  if  all  the  nations  knew, 
Sure  the  whole  world  would  love  him  too." 

Is  not  this  my  fifteenth  letter  to  Catskill  ?  Shall  you,  my 
dear  sir,  live  to  receive  fifteen  more  ?  or  shall  I  live  to  write 
them  ?  Neither  the  one  nor  the  other  is  at  all  probable.  But 
no  matter,  I  trust  we  shall  have  eternal  life,  through  Jesus 


210  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE  TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

Christ  our  Lord.     And  instead  of  saying  to  you,  as  all  my 
neighbors  are  saying  to  me  on  this  new  year,  "  Many  happy 
returns  to  you,"  I  would  say,  "  May  you  live  for  ever ! " 
And  so  may  yours  truly, 

W.    GOODELL. 

He  writes  in  his  journal  at  this  time  of  these  and  other 
trying  scenes  through  which  he  and  his  associates  were  called 
to  pass :  — 

"  The  missionary  families  in  and  around  the  Mediterranean 
have  been  afflicted  in  a  very  uncommon  degree,  and  not  only 
by  sickness  and  death,  but  also  by  opposition  of  a  peculiarly 
trying  nature.  Men  have  persecuted  them  for  being  so  much 
like  Christ,  and  God  has  chastised  them  for  not  being  more 
like  Him.  But  of  whatever  nature  the  affliction,  the  fruit  of 
it,  as  there  is  good  reason  to  believe,  has  been  to  take  away 
sin.  Though  not  in  itself  joyous,  but  grievous,  it  has  yielded 
some  of  the  peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness.  Oh,  what  dead- 
ness  to  the  world  it  has  in  some  instances  produced !  What 
lively  hopes  of  heaven !  What  acquaintance  with  Christ, 
and  with  the  power  of  His  resurrection,  and  the  fellowship 
of  His  sufferings,  and  the  preciousness  of  His  Gospel !  And 
what  near  and  strong  views  of  those  things  which  are  un 
seen  and  eternal ! 

"  And,  '  if  the  Lord  were  pleased  to  kill  us,'  would  such 
have  been  the  effect  of  His  chastisements?  and  such  the 
manifestations  of  His  grace,  and  the  visits  of  His  love  ?  No ; 
4  it  is  good  for  us  that  we  have  been  afflicted.'  However 
mysterious  our  afflictions  may  appear  to  others,  they  are  all 
plain  to  us.  'We  know,  O  Lord,  that  thy  judgments  are 
right,  and  that  thou  in  faithfulness  hast  afflicted  us.'  We 
needed  these  chastisements.  And  the  evidence  is  clear  that 
they  were  not  sent  in  judgment,  but  in  mercy  ;  that  they  came 
not  from  an  enemy,  but  from  a  friend ;  and  that  they  came 
fraught  with  distinguished  blessings.  The  Lord  is  not  doing 
us  evil,  but  doing  us  good.  He  is,  we  trust,  fitting  us  for 
more  eminent  services  in  His  kingdom.  He  is  preparing  us 
to  sympathize  with  Christ,  to  breathe  more  of  His  sweetness, 
love,  and  tenderness  in  our  conversation,  and  more  of  His 
faith  and  fervor  in  our  prayers,  and  thus  to  learn  how  to 
preach  His  blessed  Gospel  to  the  poor,  and  to  bind  up  the 
broken-hearted. 


EFFECT    OF    CHASTISEMENTS.  211 

"  In  this  way,  also,  may  it  not  be  that  the  Lord  is  making 
us  a  sign  to  the  people  ?  They  have  never  before  seen  men 
walking  about  as  calmly  in  the  furnace  of  affliction  as  the 
three  children  in  the  furnace  of  fire.  This  is  the  first  time 
they  have  ever  seen  men  *  glory  in  tribulation  also,'  —  being 
not  merely  patient  but  joyful,  not  merely  submissive  and 
resigned,  but  exceedingly  filled  with  comfort.  And  thus 
*  death  worketh  in  us,  but  life  in  them.'  Their  sympathies 
are  in  many  instances  awakened ;  their  admiration  is  called 
forth,  and  they  learn  what  all  the  preaching  in  the  world 
could  not  make  them  see,  viz.,  the  power  of  the  Gospel. 
They  see  that  God  is  with  us  of  a  truth ;  that  we  have  not 
followed  cunningly  devised  fables,  but  that  the  truth  we  have 
proclaimed  to  them  is  God's  everlasting  truth,  —  truth  which 
He  honors,  and  which  is  not  only  sufficient  to  live  by,  but 
abundantly  sufficient  to  die  by. 

"  And  what  if  it  should  '  please  Him,  for  whom  are  all 
things,  and  by  whom  are  all  things,  in  bringing  many  sons 
and  daughters  unto  glory,  to  make '  us,  as  he  did  '  the  Cap 
tain  of  our  salvation,  perfect  through  sufferings  ' !  Shall  we 
complain  of  this,  and  say  with  the  disappointed  prophet,  4I 
do  well  to  be  angry '  ?  When  we  were  contemplating  a  mis 
sionary  life  in  America,  did  we  never  pray  that  God,  in 
building  up  His  kingdom  and  gathering  His  outcasts,  would 
make  just  such  use  of  us  as  He  pleased,  —  would  make  us 
any  thing  or  nothing,  as  might  be  most  for  His  glory  ?  Yes  ; 
I  remember  such  prayers.  And  lo  !  God  is  pleased  to  take 
us  at  our  word,  and  to  make  us  appear,  at  least,  very  small. 
And  what  if  He  should  go  a  step  farther,  and  make  us  noth 
ing,  or  even,  as  it  were,  less  than  nothing,  both  in  our  own 
estimation  and  in  the  eyes  of  all  the  people  here,  in  order 
that  He  may  appear  to  be  something,  in  order  that  He  may 
be  seen,  that  He  may  be  praised,  and  that  He  may  be  glori- 
fied,  and  not  we,  and  that  thus  He  may  be,  as  He  deserves  to 
be,  « all  in  all ' ! 

"  November  15.  To-day  I  removed  from  the  house  I  have 
occupied  for  the  last  three  years  to  another  I  have  secured 
for  two  years  to  come.  In  no  other  house,  since  I  left 
America,  fifteen  years  ago,  have  I  lived  so  long,  or  enjoyed 
so  many  comforts,  or  felt  to  such  a  degree  '  the  powers  of  the 
world  to  come,'  as  I  have  in  this ;  and  in  no  other  have  there 
been  more  important  missionary  operations  going  on.  Here 
my  translations  in  Armeno-Turkish  have  been  carried  for- 


212          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

ward,  and  the  meetings  in  Turkish  generally  held.  Here 
from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath  have  been  two  distinct  chapels 
opened  for  two  distinct  services,  viz.,  in  English  and  German. 
Here  began  and  flourished  our  high  school  in  both  its 
branches.  Here  were  our  philosophical  apparatus,  our  room 
for  public  lectures,  and  our  chemical  laboratory.  Here,  for 
the  most  part,  we  held  our  Sabbath  school,  our  Bible  class, 
our  singing  meetings,  our  communion  seasons,  our  monthly 
concerts,  and  our  daily  concerts,  and  our  special  days  for 
fasting  or  thanksgiving.  And  what  is  more  and  better  than 
all,  we  trust  '  the  Lord  will  count,  when  He  writeth  up  the 
people,  that  this  and  that  man  were  born  there.' 

"  My  present  house  is  a  new  one,  but  is  not  so  well  situ 
ated  as  the  former,  and,  being  built  of  wood,  its  end  doubt 
less  '  is  to  be  burned,'  for  such  is  universally  the  fate  of  all 
wooden  houses  in  Constantinople.  But,  while  we  occupy  it, 
may  we  enjoy  more  of  the  divine  presence  and  blessing  than 
we  have  ever  done  before!  May  every  room  be  consecrated 
to  Christ!  May  the  Holy  Spirit  find  a  mansion  in  every 
heart,  and  be  always  cherished,  and  never  grieved  away ! 
May  all  who  shall  enter  our  religious  assemblies  learn  to  wor 
ship  God  in  spirit  and  in  truth  !  May  all  who  come  to  inquire 
concerning  the  truth  become  wise  unto  salvation  !  May  all 
who  dwell  beneath  this  roof  dwell  in  love,  that  they  may 
dwell  in  God  and  God  in  them !  And  whenever  we  take 
our  last  remove,  may  '  we  have  a  building  of  God,  an  house 
not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens ' ! 

"  In  removing,  and  I  have  already  removed  some  dozens 
of  times,  I  always  find  that  a  great  deal  of  rubbish  has  accu 
mulated,  which  is  not  worth  carrying  away,  and  is  fit  only  to 
be  burned.  And  when  we  take  our  last  remove,  I  fear  we 
shall  find  that  a  great  deal  which  we  called  religion  and 
which  we  were  at  the  trouble  of  lugging  about  with  us  through 
our  whole  pilgrimage,  is  perfectly  worthless,  fit  only  to  be 
burned,  and  we  shall  never  think  of  taking  it  with  us  to  the 
other  world.  Oh  that  we  might  no  longer  burden  ourselves 
with  such  wretched  furniture ;  but  might  empty  ourselves 
entirely,  and  trust  to  our  blessed  Lord  to  make  all  the  neces 
sary  preparation  for  us  in  those  mansions  above !  " 

The  following,  from  a  letter  to  the  Corresponding  Secre 
tary  of  the  Board,  shows  his  readiness  to  retrench  expenses 
in  a  time  of  need.  It  also  expresses  the  confidence  with 


RETRENCHMENT.  213 

which  he  was  anticipating  an  answer  to  prayers  and  labor, 
in  the  spiritual  reformation  of  the  people  by  whom  he  was 
surrounded,  and  the  wisdom  with  which  he  was  directing  his 
efforts  toward  such  a  result:  — 

"  We  sympathize  with  the  Board  in  their  present  dis 
tresses  ;  but  we  trust  it  will  in  the  end  prove  a  great  blessing 
to  the  cause,  to  the  churches,  and  to  all  the  missionaries. 
We  find  many  little  things,  yea,  and  some  great  ones,  which 
can  be  easily  dispensed  with,  and  that  without  seriously 
affecting  the  interests  of  our  mission.  And  so  long  as  we  are 
not  required  to  make  retrenchments  in  prayer,  in  faith,  and 
in  making  known  a  knowledge  of  Christ  and  salvation,  I 
verily  believe  we  shall  live  and  grow.  Your  circular,  instead 
of  leading  us  to  despond,  has  in  fact  led  us  to  *  thank  God 
and  take  courage,'  arid  we  feel  that  now  emphatically  is  the 
time  to  labor  and  pray  in  earnest.  4 

"  I  see  in  your  letter  to  Smyrna  that,  since  reading  Mr. 
Boggs's  letter  respecting  the  church  missions  among  the 
Syrian  Christians  in  India,  you  feel  some  doubts  as  to  the 
correctness  of  the  sentiments  you  advanced  in  the  instruc 
tions  to  Messrs.  H ,  L ,  &c.  But  it  should  be  borne 

in  mind  that  the  people  of  India  are  very  different  from  the 
people  here.  There,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  excite  them; 
here,  it  is  difficult  to  prevent  excitement.  There,  they  will 
never  make  one  change  of  themselves ;  here,  as  soon  as  their 
eyes  begin  to  be  opened  a  little,  they  are  all  for  change  at 
once,  and  the  only  danger  is  that  the  external  changes  will 
go  on  at  a  much  more  rapid  rate  than  the  internal  ones. 
For  the  present,  it  does  appear  to  me  that  our  great  concern 
is  with  the  latter.  The  former  will  follow  of  course,  and 
when  we  can  prevent  their  taking  the  lead,  and,  in  fact,  be 
coming  the  all-absorbing  topic,  we  are  glad.  Again,  in 
India,  as  the  papal  missionaries  long  ago  said,  they  are  not 
capable  of  managing  their  own  ecclesiastical  matters.  But 
in  these  countries,  there  is  energy  enough,  and  there  will  be 
no  occasion  for  the  churches  to  be  subjected  to  English 
bishops  or  American  presbyters.  Our  advice  and  assistance 
will,  of  course,  be  wanted,  when  the  church  comes  to  be  re 
formed  externally ;  but  do  let  it  be  our  first  and  great  object 
to  get  the  materials  for  such  a  reformation. 

"  Again,  I  think  we  ought  to  be  careful  not  to  mark  out 
beforehand  the  form  which  the  reformation  shall  take.  We 


214          FORTY    YEARS   JN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

can  no  more  do  this  than  we  can  prescribe  the  way  in  which 
sinners  shall  be  converted.  None  of  the  great  reformers, 
though  some  of  them  had  prodigious  influence,  probably  a 
thousand  times  more  than  any  of  us  will  ever  have,  were 
ever  able  to  give  just  that  shape  which  they  wished  to  the 
new  organization  of  the  church.  They  took  things  as  they 
were,  and  did  what  they  could.  And  so  we  must  do  here, 
and  so  they  must  do  in  Syria,  and  so  they  must  do  in  Abys 
sinia ;  and  so  also  in  India,  in  Greece,  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  America,  &c.  There  is  not  the  least  proba 
bility  that,  among  people  so  very  different  in  character  and 
circumstances,  the  work  will  everywhere  take  the  same  form. 
The  glorious  reformation  under  Luther  was  by  no  means 
such  as  he  wished  it  to  be.  Had  it  been  possible  for  him,  by 
cutting  off  a  right  hand  or  plucking  out  a  right  eye,  to  have 
separated  church  and  state  in  the  new  organization,  he  would 
doubtless  have  done  it  with  the  utmost  cheerfulness ;  but  it 
was  not  possible.  We  can  never  control  God's  providences, 
nor  can  we  always  control  even  the  pope  and  the  devil." 

A  letter  to  his  life-long  correspondent,  Mr.  Temple,  dated 
Feb.  10,  1838,  alluding  to  a  paper  he  had  prepared  for  dis 
tribution  among  the  Oriental  Christians,  contains  a  striking 
argument  on  the  subject  of  the  worship  of  saints :  — 

"  Our  blessed  Lord  was  always  infinitely  more  kind  and 
gentle  than  His  own  disciples  were.  Their  hearts  were  like 
adamant  compared  with  His.  Their  hearts  were  frozen  com 
pared  with  His.  His  own  mother  and  brethren  would  inter 
rupt  Him  in  His  preaching.  His  own  disciples  would  drive 
away  the  little  children  that  were  brought  to  Him.  His 
own  disciples  marvelled  that  He  should  give  instruction  to 
the  woman  of  Samaria.  His  own  disciples  would  have  sent 
away  the  woman  of  Canaan,  and  not  allowed  her  a  crumb. 
His  own  disciples,  and  the  very  best  of  them,  would  have 
commanded  fire  to  come  down  from  heaven.  They  had  a 
little  gentleness,  kindness,  benevolence,  and  condescension ; 
but  He  possessed  all  these  in  an  infinite  degree.  Had  all 
they  possessed  and  all  the  saints  have  ever  possessed  been 
united  in  one  heart,  that  heart  would,  after  all,  be  cold  and 
dead  compared  with  the  Heart  of  Infinite  Kindness.  What 
encouragement  then  have  we  to  come  boldly  to  such  an  High 
Priest,  rather  than  to  any  of  His  saints." 


JOURNEY    TO    TREBIZOND.  215 

In  June,  1838,  Mr.  Goodell  made  a  visit  to  Trebizond,  near 
the  south-eastern  extremity  of  the  Black  Sea,  the  spot  where 
Xenophon,  in  the  memorable  retreat  of  the  ten  thousand, 
struck  the  sea.  Being  the  principal  port  of  ancient  Arme 
nia,  and  an  important  point  of  communication  with  the  Ar 
menian  race,  it  was  early  selected  as  a  mission  station. 
The  object  of  this  visit  was  to  strengthen  the  hearts  of  the 
brethren  who  were  laboring  there,  and  also  to  partake  of 
their  joy  in  the  work  of  grace  which  had  already  begun,  of 
which  he  writes  in  his  journal :  — 

"  At  four  o'clock  on  the  8th  of  June,  left  Constantinople 
for  Trebizond  on  the  Austrian  steamer,  Prince  Metternich. 
Reached  Sinope,  celebrated  as  the  birth-place  of  Diogenes, 
at  half-past  nine  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  10th,  Samsoon 
at  half-past  seven  the  same  evening,  and  Trebizond  the  next 
day  at  three,  P.M. 

"  Trebizond  is  so  very  seldom  visited  by  the  Christian  travel 
ler,  that  the  mission  families  there  may  be  said  to  be  almost 
entirely  alone  in  the  wilderness ;  being  scarcely  ever  cheered  by 
the  countenance  and  voice  of  any  of  '  the  household  of  faith.' 
But  though  alone,  yet  they  are  not  alone,  for  He  is  with 
them  '  who  giveth  songs  in  the  night,'  and  whose  Spirit  '  re- 
viveth  the  hearts  of  the  contrite  ones.'  Nor  is  there  want 
ing  evidence  that  He  has  thoughts  of  mercy  for  the  poor, 
perishing  people  around  them,  for  already  is  the  blessed  in 
fluence  of  His  Spirit  beginning  to  soften  the  hearts  of  some 
of  those  with  whom  they  have  intercourse.  And  this  influ 
ence,  though  it  be  at  first  like  the  gentlest  dew,  yet  how 
precious  and  how  encouraging  is  even  this ! 

"  The  country  around  Sinope,  Samsoon,  and  Trebizond 
is  strikingly  beautiful.  Indeed,  of  natural  scenery  I  have 
never  seen  any  thing  more  charming.  Even  Constantinople 
must  yield  the  palm  in  this  respect ;  for  though  the  beau 
ties  of  the  Bosphorus  are  confessedly  great,  and  all  the  views 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  city  are  varied,  rich,  and  magnifi 
cent,  yet  they  are  wonderfully  set  off  by  the  groves,  the 
shaded  avenues,  the  kiosks,  palaces,  and  other  public  edifices, 
which  Mussulman  pride,  taste,  or  piety  have  made  to  start 
up  everywhere  as  if  by  magic.  The  former,  on  the  other  hand, 
are  like  Nature  herself,  '  when  unadorned,  adorned  the  most,' 


216  FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

and  instead  of  being  limited,  as  those  at  Constantinople,  to  a 
few  bright  eminences  with  their  retired  recesses,  alcoves,  and 
lovely  retreats,  they  are  on  a  far  more  extensive  and  grand 
scale,  —  sometimes  stretching  off  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach. 
Indeed,  the  whole  extent  of  hill  and  dale,  pastures  covered  or 
that  might  be  covered  with  flocks,  and  fields  waving  or  that 
might  wave  with  corn,  spread  out  before  the  eye  at  one  view, 
is  sometimes  prodigious. 

"  On  our  return  from  Trebizond,  we  had  near  four  hun 
dred  passengers,  among  whom  were  '  Parthians,  and  Medes, 
and  Elamites,  and  the  dwellers  in  Mesopotamia,  and  in  Judea, 
and  Cappadocia,  in  Pontus,  and  Asia,  Phrygia,  and  Pam- 
philia,'  together  with  Europeans,  Circassians,  Kurds,  and 
devil  worshippers.  The  moment  they  set  foot  on  deck  they 
all  come  under  new  and  the  same  laws ;  they  are  brought  in 
direct  contact  with  European  skill  and  superiority ;  they  are 
compelled  to  see  and  learn  new  customs.  Warriors  have  to 
throw  off  their  armor,  executioners  to  deliver  up  the  instru 
ments,  of  death,  and  officers  to  cease  giving  commands.  They 
have  to  learn  punctuality.  When  we  reached  Sinope,  the 
passengers  were  told  to  a  minute  how  long  the  boat  would 
stop,  and  they  were  repeatedly  warned  of  the  danger  of  not 
being  punctual.  Still,  some  were  left  behind,  and  lost  both 
their  passage,  and,  what  was  still  more  grievous  to  them,  their 
passage-money ;  and  the  captain  told  me  that  there  were 
such  cases  almost  every  voyage.  Some-would  go  to  the  Bath, 
no  more  thinking  that  the  steamer  would  dare  to  stir  without 
them  than  that  the  sun  would  stand  still  in  the  heavens. 
And  thus  haughty,  imperious  lords,  who  never  knew  it 
could  be  twelve  o'clock  till  they  gave  orders  for  it  to  be  so, 
now  learn  for  the  first  time  in  their  life  that  '  time  and  tide 
wait  for  no  man.' 

"  So  also  activity  and  enterprise  in  business  are  promoted. 
The  Turks  have  been  squatted  down  here  for  ages,  smoking 
their  pipes  with  all  gravity,  and  reading  the  Koran  without 
being  once  disturbed ;  when,  lo  !  a  steamer  dashes  right  in 
among  them,  and  they  have  to  scramble  out  of  the  way. 
And  hardly  have  they  time  to  get  down  again  upon  their 
hams  arid  heels,  with  their  pipes  well  lighted,  when,  lo  !  other 
steamers,  with  more  power  than  the  former,  come  on,  run 
ning  round  them  and  over  them,  arid  in  such  rapid  succession 
that  they  must  either  remain  on  their  feet  and  keep  their 
eyes  wide  open  like  other  men,  letting  their  pipes  and  Koran 


FELLOW-TRAVELLERS.  217 

all  go,  or  move  entirely  from  the  ground,  and  give  place  to 
those  of  a  more  active  and  enterprising  character. 

"  It  struck  me  more  than  once  on  the  voyage,  that  some 
of  these  steamboats  would,  occasionally,  make  an  excellent 
missionary  station.  On  going  on  board  I  found  myself  in 
immediate  contact  with  people  of  different  nations,  languages, 
arid  religions,  many  of  whom  were  eager  to  engage  in  con 
versation  with  any  European  who  could  communicate  with 
them.  Here  were  Armenians  from  five  hundred  miles  in  the 
interior,  who  had  seen  our  brother  Hohannes  and  his  high 
school,  and  who  knew  something  and  were  glad  to  hear 
more  about  the  evangelical  party  at  Constantinople.  Here 
were  Greeks,  who  asked  me  for  tracts  and  Testaments,  and 
Persians  and  Turks,  who  urged  me  to  decide  the  great  dis 
pute  between  them,  whether  we  shall  see  God  in  the  future 
world,  —  as  the  latter  affirm  and  the  former  deny.  The 
former  never  united  with  the  latter  in  their  devotions,  but 
expressed  a  great  abhorrence  of  them,  and  repeatedly  asked 
me  whether  their  prayers  were  not  an  abomination,  —  as 
suring  me  at  the  same  time,  with  all  the  self-complacency 
imaginable,  that  their  own  prayers  were  acceptable  ;  and  re 
quiring  me  to  say  if  I  did  not  think  they  prayed  better  than 
the  Turks.  I  told  them  that  the  Being  with  whom  we  had 
to  do  in  prayer  was  not  like  a  man,  who  looked  only  on  the 
external  appearance ;  and  that  they  could  not  impose  upon 
Him  as  they  could  impose  upon  Sultan  Mahmoud  or  the  Shah 
of  Persia,  by  lying  lips  and  hypocritical  or  heartless  prostra 
tions.  They  said  that  the  Persians  were  good  and  the  Turks 
bad.  I  replied  that  travellers  gave  a  very  different  account 
of  them.  They  would  not  admit  this  as  any  evidence,  because 
I  had  not  been  in  their  country  and  seen  for  myself.  I  told 
them  that  I  had  seen  a  Persian  dictionary,  and  that  on 
almost  every  page  I  found  the  names  of  very  bad  practices 
and  things,  which  showed  that  they  must  be  a  very  corrupt 
and  wicked  people ;  that  the  names  of  things  never  exist  un 
less  the  things  themselves  exist.  Their  own  dictionaries, 
therefore,  testified  against  them.  In  answer  to  my  questions 
they  afterwards  admitted  that  there  were  prisons  throughout 
all  Persia ;  that  every  house  was  barred,  and  every  trunk 
that  contained  any  thing  valuable  was  furnished  with  a  lock 
and  key ;  and  thus  their  own  confession  furnished  proof  that 
they  were  a  nation  of  thieves  and  robbers,  and  that,  although 
they  knew  one  another's  characters  better  than  foreigners 

10 


218    FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE. 

could  know  them,  yet,  in  all  their  daily  transactions,  they 
plainly  showed  that  they  had  no  more  confidence  in  one 
another  than  travellers  had  represented  them  as  deserving. 
The  Turks  were  all  awake  to  these  arguments,  and  gathered 
round,  while  I  demanded  further  of  the  Persians  whether 
they  did  not  wish  to  live  long  in  this  world,  even  a  thousand 
years  if  they  could,  notwithstanding  all  the  evils  they  suffer 
here ;  and  whether  their  countrymen  did  not  wish  the  same ; 
and  whether  all,  universally,  did  not  consider  it  a  great  mis 
fortune  to  die,  and  especially  to  die  early.  This  too  they 
were  forced  to  admit,  although  their  own  sacred  books  de 
clare  that  paradise,  to  which  all  faithful  Mussulmans  go,  is 
an  infinitely  better  place  than  this  world,  —  thus  proving 
themselves  to  be  a  nation  of  infidels.  For  if  you  believe 
not  your  own  sacred  books,  I  added,  pray  tell  me  what  is 
there  that  you  do  believe  ? 

"  When  the  Mussulmans,  whether  Persians  or  Turks,  rose 
up  to  their  prayers,  I  felt  that  it  was  a  special  call  on  me  to 
attend  to  mine.  I  knew  it  did  not  enter  into  the  nature  of 
their  devotions  to  pray  for  me,  nor  had  I  any  reason  to  sup 
pose  they  had  any  knowledge  of  the  characteristics  of  accept 
able  prayer.  And  if  they  could  say  their  prayers  five  times 
a  day  without  a  Mediator  or  any  Holy  Spirit  to  help  their 
infirmities,  surely  Christians,  with  such  helps,  such  encourage 
ments,  and  such  an  High  Priest  to  aid  them  in  all  their  ap 
proaches  to  God,  should  be  ready  to  '  pray  always  with  all 
prayer  and  supplication  in  the  spirit.' 

"  The  Mussulmans  on  other  occasions  as  well  as  this  have 
been  frequently  pointed  out  to  me  by  Europeans  as  being  a 
most  sincere,  devout,  and  praiseworthy  people  in  respect  to 
their  devotions;  and  their  punctilious  observance  of  them, 
anywhere  and  everywhere,  has  been  held  up  as  an  example 
for  Protestant  Christians  to  imitate.  And  yet  these  same 
Europeans  would  call  us  bigots,  fanatics,  hypocrites,  and  more 
names  and  worse  than  could  be  found  in  any  dictionary, 
were  we  to  pray  in  that  way  in  the  streets,  in  the  coffee 
shops,  in  the  public  places  of  resort,  in  the  midst  of  our  busi 
ness,  or  wherever  we  might  happen  to  be. 

" '  But  see !  they  are  not  ashamed  to  pray  anywhere.' 

"  Yes,  I  see.  And  so  a  man  in  America  is  not  ashamed 
to  wash  his  hands  anywhere.  Why  should  he  be?  He 
would  be  ashamed  not  to  do  it.  It  is  the  custom  to  do  it. 
Everybody  does  it.  IS"o  one  could  be  admitted  into  good 


MOHAMMEDAN   PRAYERS.  219 

society  without  doing  it.  And  for  a  man  to  wash  his  face 
or  hands,  does  not  imply  that  he  fears  God,  keeps  himself 
unspotted  from  the  world,  leads  a  conscientious,  heavenly  life, 
and  acts  constantly  in  view  of  eternity.  If  it  did,  worldly 
men  would  be  as  much  ashamed  to  be  seen  washing  their 
hands,  as  they  are  now  ashamed  of  prayer,  or  of  Christ's 
ordinances.  But  it  is  not  done  out  of  regard  to  Christ,  nor 
does  any  one  ever  suppose  it  to  be  so  done.  It  implies 
nothing  of  this  kind,  expresses  nothing  of  this  character. 
And  just  so  of  the  prayers  of  these  people.  Everybody 
prays.  It  is  the  custom  to  pray;  it  is  the  law  to  pray;  a 
man  would  be  ashamed  not  to  pray.  He  would,  in  fact,  be 
hissed  out  of  society,  if  nothing  worse,  should  he  refuse  to 
pray.  And  his  prayer  implies  no  more  as  to  his  moral  char 
acter  than  the  custom  with  us  of  washing  one's  hands,  or 
shaving  one's  beard.  Nobody  here  ever  expects  to  find 
a  man  more  heavenly-minded,  more  benevolent,  more 
hospitable,  more  honest,  because  he  prays.  Nobody  ever 
feels  that  his  life  and  property  are  in  any  degree  the  more 
secure  because  he  has  fallen  into  the  hands  of  those  who 
have  just  risen  up  from  their  prayers.  No  one  is  ever  sup 
posed  to  be  the  less  covetous,  the  less  selfish,  the  less  impure, 
the  less  a  cheat,  a  gambler,  a  liar,  a  defrauder,  a  murderer, 
because  he  prays.  Nothing  is  farther  from  his  own  thoughts, 
or  the  thoughts  of  the  bystanders,  than  that  his  prayer 
should  exert  any  transforming  influence  upon  his  character." 

He  continues  his  journal  after  returning  to  Constantino 
ple : — 

"May  7,  1838.  To-day  we  received  interesting  intelli 
gence  from  T.,  in  Persia,  of  the  work  of  the  Lord  on  the 
minds  of  some  English  residents  there  ;  from  Nicomedia,  of 
the  spirit  of  inquiry  and  seriousness  awakened  among  some 
of  the  Armenians  of  that  place  ;  from  Smyrna,  of  '  the  times 
of  refreshing '  in  the  mission  and  other  families  ;  and  from 
Odessa,  of  the  continuance  of  the  revival,  which  was  com 
menced  a  year  and*  a  half  ago  in  that  city.  Showers  all 
round  us  ;  and  truly  '  there  is  a  sound  of  abundance  of  rain.' 
Oh,  may  the  whole  of  this  dry  and  thirsty  land  be  re 
freshed  ! 

"May  18.  Our  Christian  brother,  Hohannes,  called  and 
spent  the  whole  afternoon  with  me  in  reading  the  Holy 


220  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

Scriptures,  and  asking  the  meaning  of  various  passages. 
The  following  incident  which  he  related  to  me,  shows  the 
change  which  is  taking  place  in  the  feelings  of  Mussul 
mans  :  — 

"  H p,  who  teaches  geometry  in  this  high  school,  had 

a  quarrel,  a  few  days  since,  with  the  Turkish  boatmen  he 
employed,  and,  in  an  unguarded  moment,  he  reproached  the 
religion  of  Mohammed.  He  was  forthwith  seized  and  car 
ried  before  the  proper  tribunal,  where  he  was  tried,  and 
found  guilty  of  death  ;  but  the  punishment  was  immediately 
commuted  for  the  bastinado  and  the  bagnio.  His  mother, 
who  had  a  short  time  before  prescribed  with  success  for  the 
Sultan's  son,  when  sick  of  the  scarlet  fever  and  almost  given 
over  by  his  physicians,  now  hastened  to  the  royal  gate,  and 
informed  the  prince  of  the  eunuchs  of  the  situation  of  her 
son.  This  officer  immediately  sent  and  took  him  from  prison, 
and,  after  admonishing  him  to  beware  in  future  of  getting 
into  any  quarrel  with  Mussulmans,  set  him  at  liberty.  As 
soon  as  it  came  to  the  ears  of  the  Sultan's  son,  he  sent  for 
him,  and  told  him  that  he  understood  he  knew  many  things, 
and  was  able  to  teach  geometry,  astronomy,  and  the  sciences, 
and  that  he  must  not,  therefore,  expose  himself  to  the  rage 
of  Mussulmans,  but  let  them  entirely  alone.  As  if  he  would 
say,  they  are  illiterate,  bigoted,  and  vulgar  ;  keep  out  of 

their  way,  and  have   nothing  to   do   with  them.     H p 

promised  to  take  heed  to  his  ways  in  future,  and  came  away 
proud  of  the  acquaintance  he  had  formed  with  the  young 
prince,  the  heir-apparent  to  the  throne." 

Among  the  more  remarkable  records  of  the  wonders  of 
divine  grace,  wrought  through  the  instrumentality  of  Legh 
Richmond's  "  Short  and  Simple  Annals  of  the  Poor,"  the 
following  must  have  a  place  :  — 

In  May,  1838,  two  Armenian  priests,  strangers,  came  to 
Constantinople  from  the  interior.  They  had  already  become 
humble  followers  of  the  Saviour  while  ministering  in  their 
own  church,  and  they  came  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  the 
missionaries  from  America,  that  they  might  have  the  way  of 
God  expounded  unto  them  more  perfectly.  It  appeared  also 
in  the  course  of  their  sojourn  at  the  capital,  that  they  had  a 


THE  DAIRYMAN'S  DAUGHTER.  221 

special  object  in  view,  which  was  to  ask  the  prayers  of  the 
mission  in  behalf  of  their  patriarch,  to  whom  they  were  per 
sonally  and  strongly  attached,  and  whom  they  were  expect 
ing  on  a  visit  at  their  home  in  a  short  time.  They  had 
together  resolved  to  have  an  earnest  conversation  with  him 
on  the  need  of  a  revival  of  spiritual  religion  in  the  Arme 
nian  church,  and  they  came  to  ask  that  prayer  might  be 
offered  by  the  brethren  at  Constantinople  for  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  to  make  their  conversation  instrumental  in 
beginning  such  a  revival  in  the  heart  of  the  patriarch 
himself. 

While  Mr.  Goodell  was  engaged  in  his  mission  work  at 
Beyrout,  several  years  before,  he  had  translated  into  the 
Armeno-Turkish  language  two  of  Legh  Richmond's  tracts, 
"  The  Dairyman's  Daughter  "  and  "  The  Young  Cottager," 
which  were  printed  at  the  mission  press  at  Malta.  On  his 
first  journey  to  Broosa,  in  company  with  Commodore  Porter, 
in  1832,  the  year  after  his  arrival  at  Constantinople,  he  car 
ried  with  him,  for  distribution  on  the  way,  several  copies  of 
the  New  Testament  in  Armeno-Turkish,  and  of  the  tracts 
which  he  had  translated.  Some  of  these  he  distributed  at 
the  door  of  a  church  in  Nicomedia,  as  he  was  passing  through 
the  city.  One  of  the  tracts,  "  The  Dairyman's  Daughter," 
was  carried  to  a  priest  by  the  boy  who  received  it  at  the 
hands  of  the  passing  stranger.  The  priest  read  it  atten 
tively,  and  it  was  a  message  from  God  to  his  heart,  revealing 
to  him  the  way  of  salvation.  He  went  to  another  priest 
with  the  glad  tidings,  and  he  also  received  the  truth,  and 
rejoiced  in  the  salvation  of  Christ.  Without  communicating 
with  any  foreign  missionaries,  they  became  missionaries 
themselves.  They  gathered  their  friends  together,  and  told 
them  of  the  true  light  that  had  shined  into  their  hearts. 
Others  soon  embraced  the  truth  and  rejoiced;  and  now, 
after  several  years,  these  two  priests  had  come  to  Constanti 
nople,  not  so  much  to  tell  what  God  had  done  for  them  and 
for  their  brethren  and  friends  at  Nicomedia,  as  to  ask  that 


222          FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

prayer  might  be  offered  for  those  who  were  still  in  dark 
ness. 

One  of  these  priests  spent  a  night  at  the  house  of  Mr. 
Goodell,  and  communicated  to  him  the  first  tidings  he  had 
received  of  the  work  of  grace  that  had  been  so  quietly  going 
on  at  Nicomedia,  and  of  the  means  which  God  had  used  for 
its  commencement,  —  the  tract  he  had  once  given  to  a  boy  on 
the  street.  It  was  the  first  time  also  that  this  Armenian 
priest  had  learned  by  whose  hand  God  had  sent  the  message 
to  his  city  and  to  himself.  A  great  part  of  the  night  was 
spent  by  the  priest  and  the  missionary  in  joyful  communion 
on  the  things  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  In  noting  down 
these  facts,  Mr.  Goodell  wrote  in  his  journal :  — 

"  What  a  sweet  comment  on  the  text,  £  Cast  thy  bread 
upon  the  waters ;  for  thou  shalt  find  it  after  many  days ' ! 
and  on  this  also,  l  In  the  morning  sow  thy  seed,  and  in  the 
evening  withhold  not  thy  hand ' !  Oh,  how  many  beautiful 
plants  may,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  hereafter  spring  up 
unobserved  from  the  good  seed  which  is  scattered  here 
and  there  !  May  I  be  encouraged  in  future  to  *  sow  beside 
all  waters ' !  " 

These  two  priests,  Vertanes  and  Harutun,  afterward 
removed  to  Constantinople,  and  were  placed  over  a  church 
in  one  of  the  villages  on  the  Bosphorus,  where  they  were 
permitted  to  publish  the  true  Gospel  of  Christ.  And  when 
the  time  of  trial  came  and  they  were  called  to  suffer  for  the 
truth,  they  cheerfully  took  the  spoiling  of  their  goods,  and 
endured  persecution,  even  to  stonings  and  imprisonment,  for 
the  sake  of  Christ,  "  rejoicing  that  they  were  counted  worthy 
to  suffer  shame  for  His  name." 

Two  letters  from  Mr.  Goodell,  both  relating  to  the  tract 
which  was  instrumental  in  the  revival  of  true  religion  at 
Nicomedia,  are  here  inserted.  One  was  written  about  two 
years  subsequent  to  the  visit  of  the  two  priests  at  his  house 
in  Constantinople,  and  inclosed  the  copy  of  a  letter  which 


LETTER  TO    MR.    GRIMSHAWE.  223 

Mr.  Goodell  had  written  while  at  Malta,  in  1829,  but  which 
had  never  reached  its  destination.  They  were  both  addressed 
to  the  biographer  of  the  sainted  Legh  Richmond :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  June  18,  1840. 

To  the  Rev.  T.  S.  GRIMSHAWE,  Rector  of  Burton- Latimer, 
&c.: 

REV.  AND  DEAR  SIR,  —  In  looking  over  some  old  papers 
this  morning,  I  was  happy  to  find  a  copy  of  the  letter  which 
I  addressed  to  you  several  years  ago,  but  which,  as  you  in 
formed  me  in  your  late  visit  to  this  city,  was  never  received. 
1  should  not  have  thought  of  making  a  copy  of  it  to  send  to 
you  now,  at  this  late  day,  had  you  not  taken  such  a  lively 
interest  in  that  blessed  work  which  the  spirit  of  God  has 
commenced  in  these  parts,  and  with  which  one  of  those  tracts 
which  were  the  occasion  and  the  subject  of  the  letter  had  an 
important  connection.  For  a  particular  account  of  this  work, 
so  far  as  it  relates  to  Nicomedia,  I  must  refer  you  to  the 
"  Missionary  Herald"  for  December,  1838,  Vol.  34,  and  also 
to  Vol.  35,  the  number  for  March,  1839.  This  publication  you 
will  find  at  the  house  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  and 
also  at  the  offices  of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  and  of 
Wesleyan  Methodists.  In  addition  to  what  you  will  find 
published,  let  me  add,  that  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Dwight  and 
Hamlin  have  just  returned  from  an  intensely  interesting  visit 
to  this  little  company  of  believers  at  Nicomedia.  One  of 
their  meetings  with  them  was  seven  hours  long.  The  brethren 
there  are  increasing  in  numbers  and  strength,  and  the  work 
is  extending  silently,  but  surely,  on  every  hand,  even  into 
neighboring  villages.  The  account  of  this  visit  will  soon  be 
published  in  the  "  Missionary  Herald,"  and  will  be  within 
your  reach,  so  that  I  need  not  now  enlarge  upon  it. 

The  two  tracts  which  accompanied  the  original  letter  I 
am  unable  to  procure,  either  at  this  place  or  at  Smyrna,  they 
being  novi  out  of  print ;  but  I  am  not  without  hopes  of  being 
able  to  obtain  them  from  Dionysius,  the  Armenian  bishop  at 
Beyrout,  who  was  my  assistant  in  correcting  the  press  at  the 
time  they  were  printed,  and  who  was  the  author  of  the  prayer 
at  the  end  of  "  The  Dairyman's  Daughter."  The  translator, 
whose  aspiration  is  on  the  seventy-first  page  of  "  The  Young 
Cottager,"  was  another  Armenian  acting  bishop,  then  in  my 
service,  who  is  since  dead,  but  who  died  "  in  faith,  giving 
glory  to  God."  Should  I  find  the  tracts  at  Beyrout,  or  in  any 


224          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

other  place,  I  will  forward  them  to  you  without  delay.  In  the 
mean  time,  will  you  present  my  Christian  salutations  to  any 
of  Mr.  Richmond's  family  with  whom  you  may  meet?  As 
I  formerly  ventured  to  ask  for  their  prayers,  that  a  blessing 
might  accompany  the  reading  of  these  tracts,  so  now  I  would 
venture  to  ask  for  their  thanksgivings  ;  for  that  which  is 
worth  asking  for  in  prayer,  is,  when  obtained,  certainly  worth 
a  grateful  recognition.  The  preparation  of  these  tracts  in 
this  difficult  language  was  very  imperfectly  done,  for  we 
were  then  but  novices  in  the  work  of  translation.  But  we 
see  that  God  can  bless  the  feeblest  means ;  that  even  His 
"  foolishness  is  wiser  than  men,  and  His  weakness  stronger 
than  men."  From  the  success  that  has  so  manifestly  at 
tended  "  The  Dairyman's  Daughter  "  in  Armeno-Turkish,  Mr. 
Dwight  is  encouraged  to  translate  it  into  Modern  Armenian ; 
and  we  should  all  be  encouraged  to  a  great  increase  in  the 
fervor  and  frequency  of  our  prayers,  that  it  may  be  attended 
with  even  still  greater  success  in  this  language  than  it  has 
been  in  the  other.  It  is  intended  for  the  same  class  of  peo 
ple,  and,  when  completed,  I  will  see  that  you  are  furnished 
with  a  copy  of  the  work. 

Your  visit  to  this  city,  dear  sir,  we  remember  with  very 
great  pleasure.  It  was  refreshing  to  our  spirits.  And  I 
trust,  through  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  we 
shall  be  permitted  to  meet  at  last  in  another  city,  under  a 
different  government,  and  with  infinitely  better  regulations, 
together  with  "  a  great  multitude,  which  no  man  can  num 
ber,  out  of  every  kindred  and  tongue  and  people  and  nation," 
the  select  from  the  whole  universe.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Leeves 
has  returned  to  Athens.  Dr.  Bennet  is  now  ill,  and  Mr. 
Farman  supplies  the  chapel.  All  your  friends  here  often 
speak  of  you.  Mrs.  Goodell  and  the  children,  and  all  our 
families,  join  in  affectionate  salutations,  and  in  commending 
ourselves  to  your  prayers,  and  to  the  prayers  also  of  the 
good  people  of  your  charge. 

Yours  most  truly, 

W.  GOODELL. 

The  following  is  the  original  letter  to  which  he  refers  •  — 


LEGH  RICHMOND'S  TRACTS.  225 

MALTA,  May  5, 1829. 
To  the  Rev.  T.  S.  GRIMSHAWE,  A.M.,  Rector  of  Burton- 

JLatimer,  &c. : 

REV.  AND  DEAR  SIR,  —  We  have  just  read,  with  no  ordi 
nary  interest,  and  I  hope  I  may  add  with  no  ordinary  profit; 
the  memoir  (American  edition)  of  that  "  man  of  God,"  the 
Rev.  Legh  Richmond.  And  to  the  family  once  enliv 
ened  by  the  presence,  but  now  afflicted  by  the  departure,  of 
that  dear  man,  I  take  the  liberty  of  sending  through  you  "  The 
Dairyman's  Daughter  "  and  "  The  Young  Cottager,"  in  Ar- 
meno-Turkish,  i.e.  Turkish  with  Armenian  characters,  recently 
published  at  the  American  press  in  Malta,  under  the  direc 
tion  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions.  In  the  memoir  it  is  said  that  "  The  Dairyman's 
Daughter  "  had  been  published  in  nineteen  languages  ;  I  sup 
pose,  therefore,  that  the  Armeno-Turkish  makes  twenty.  I 
have  seen  Little  Jane  read  in  manuscript  by  Armenian 
ecclesiastics  in  Syria,  with  tears  flowing  down  their  cheeks, 
and  with  their  eyes  occasionally  raised  towards  heaven,  as  if 
they  would  say,  "  Oh  for  such  grace  and  such  enjoyment  as 
Little  Jane  possessed  ! " 

These  tracts,  in  the  same  style  of  execution  with  those  I 
now  send,  have  already  been  read,  or  will  probably  soon  be 
read,  in  Egypt,  at  Jerusalem,  on  "that  goodly  mountain 
Lebanon,"  in  the  cities  "  where  Antipas  was  slain "  and 
Polycarp  suffered  martyrdom,  where  Daniel  prayed  and 
made  supplication  to  the  God  of  heaven,  and  where  Rebekah 
and  Leah  and  Rachel  spent  their  youthful  days ;  and  even 
"  upon  the  mountains  of  Ararat,"  in  "  the  land  of  Uz,"  and 
in  countries  still  farther  east.  Will  not  then  those  to  whom 
the  amiable  and  interesting  writer  of  these  tracts  sustained 
the  most  near  and  tender  relations  lift  up  a  prayer  to  God 
that  His  blessing  may  attend  them  in  Palestine,  Asia  Minor, 
Mesopotamia,  or  wherever  they  may  travel,  rendering  them 
as  useful  in  Turkish  as  they  have  been  in  English  ? 

This  intrusion  of  a  stranger  into  the  family  of  sorrow,  and 
the  entrance  at  such  a  time  of  these  old  acquaintances  in  a 
foreign  garb,  will  I  trust,  be  excused,  for  he  to  whom  I  had, 
before  I  heard  the  news  of  his  death,  anticipated  much  hap 
piness  in  introducing  them  in  their  present  habit,  lived  not 
to  himself,  nor  for  his  friends  alone,  but  to  Christ,  and  for 
the  church.  Nor  is  it  kindred  nor  private  friendship  alone 
that  weeps,  for  to  almost  all  those  who  have  become  "  par- 
10*  o 


226  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

takers  of  the  divine  nature,"  of  whatever  sect  and  in  what 
ever  country,  he  was  known,  and  was  dear,  as  "  a  beloved 
brother,  and  a  faithful  minister,  and  fellow-servant  in  the 
Lord." 

Will  you,  dear  sir,  accept  for  yourself  our  Christian  salu 
tations  ?  and  have  the  goodness  to  convey  to  the  afflicted  the 
assurance  of  the  condolence,  sympathies,  prayers,  and  best 
wishes  of  all  our  little  American  missionary  circle  now  at 
Malta? 

Yours  affectionately, 

W.    GOODELL. 

P.  S.  —  The  text  under  the  cut  in  "  The  Young  Cottager  " 
is,  "  O  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ?  "  The  last  two  sentences 
before  the  poetry  on  the  seventy -first  page  are  an  aspiration  of 
the  translator,  first  for  himself,  and  next  for  the  reader,  that  the 
peace  of  Little  Jane  may  be  theirs.  On  the  last  page  is  the 
Lord's  Prayer ;  and  on  the  cover  is  the  story  of  the  Roman 
servant  who  clothed  himself  in  his  master's  garments,  and 
thus  suffered  death  in  his  stead. 

The  text  above  the  cut  in  "  The  Dairyman's  Daughter  "  is, 
"  Hath  not  God  chosen  the  poor  of  this  world,  rich  in  faith  ?  " 
and  under  the  cut,  "  1  have  fed  you  with  milk."  At  the  end 
of  the  tract  is  a  prayer  of  Dionysius,  the  Armenian  bishop 
with  us,  that  every  reader  may  become  a  partaker  of  the 
grace  of  God,  and,  like  the  Dairyman's  Daughter,  be  "  clothed 
with  humility."  On  the  cover  is  an  extract  from  Young's 
"  Night  Thoughts." 

The  influence  of  this  single  tract,  dropped  casually  at 
Kicomedia  in  1832,  has  been  spreading  wider  and  wider. 
The  work  of  grace  then  begun  extended  to  neighboring  vil 
lages,  and  the  fruit  of  this  handful  of  corn,  scattered  as  it 
were  upon  the  top  of  the  mountain,  will  continue  to  shake 
like  Lebanon,  until  the  great  harvest  of  the  world  shall  be 
gathered. 

While  preparing  these  memoirs,  and  since  penning  the 
above,  the  writer  has  met  with  an  incident  relating  to  this 
very  matter,  which  strikingly  illustrates  the  declaration  that 
"  the  foolishness  of  God  is  wiser  than  men."  An  American 
traveller,  Dr.  J.  E.  De  Kay  of  New  York,  whose  name  has 


DEATH   OP   THE   SULTAN'S   DAUGHTER.  227 

been  previously  mentioned,  who  was  in  Constantinople  in 
1831,  and  was  intimate  with  the  family  of  Mr.  Goodell, 
published,  on  his  return  home,  a  volume  entitled  "  Sketches 
of  Turkey,"  in  which  he  made  the  following  criticisms  upon 
the  character  of  the  publications  prepared  by  missionaries 
for  the  religious  instruction  of  the  Orientals :  — 

"  According  to  an  official  statement,  it  appears  that  from 
the  year  1822  to  1829  there  were  issued  from  the  Malta 
printing-press  250,000  copies  of  various  religious  works, 
containing  more  than  ten  millions  of  pages  in  Greek,  Italian, 
and  Turkish,  with  Armenian  characters.  It  is  a  subject  of 
regret  that  such  benevolent  efforts  should  in  some  instances 
have  taken  a  wrong  direction.  Nearly  forty  thousand  dollars 
have  been  expended  upon  works  which  are  as  unintelligible 
to  the  Greeks  or  Turks  as  a  Pelham  novel  would  be  to  '  Split 
Leg '  or  '  The  Black  Hawk.'  The  remedy,  however,  is 
easy.  Instead  of  translating  '  The  Dairyman's  Daughter,' 
and  other  tracts  of  a  similar  character,  let  the  mission 
aries  be  instructed  to  compose  on  the  spot  short  stories  filled 
with  local  allusions,  and  naturally  arising  out  of  the  scenes 
and  manners  around  them.  Let  them  write  something  in 
the  style  of  the  *  Arabian  Nights,'  always,  however,  with  a 
moral  end  and  aim,  and  they  will  be  read  with  avidity."  — 
Sketches  of  Turkey,  p.  287. 

The  very  tract  here  specified  as  unsuited  to  accomplish 
any  good  among  the  Orientals  was  the  one  which  God  had 
chosen  to  employ  in  the  conversion  of  these  two  priests,  and 
which  was  instrumental  in  inaugurating,  without  any  other 
apparent  means,  a  religious  revival  and  reformation  in  the 
interior  of  Turkey. 

In  his  journal  he  makes  the  following  reflections  upon  the 
death  of  a  daughter  of  the  Sultan  :  — 

"  July  3.  The  Sultan's  second  daughter,  who  was  married 
two  years  ago  to  Said  Pasha,  died  last  night,  and  was  buried 
early  this  morning.  I  feel  reproved  for  not  having  prayed 
more  in  time  past  for  the  Sultan  and  his  family.  We  enjoy 
protection  and  great  peace  and  quietness  under  his  reign,  and 
in  what  better  way  can  we  repay  him  than  by  remembering 


228          FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

him  and  his  sons  and  daughters  in  our  intercessions  ?  They 
suffer  pain  and  affliction,  and  they  must  die  as  well  as  others  ; 
and,  in  a  dying  hour,  where  can  they  look  for  comfort  if  they 
know  not  the  power  of  the  Gospel  ?  It  is  affecting  to  visit 
the  mausoleums  of  former  Sultans,  where  their  whole  fami 
lies  lie  buried  in  stately  sepulchres,  corresponding  to  the  age 
and  rank  of  each  individual.  Their  tombs  are  covered  with 
large  and  splendid  cashmere  shawls ;  candles  burn  before 
them  by  night ;  Imams  (Mohammedan  priests)  are  there, 
chanting  the  Koran  at  all  hours.  But  their  dust  is  like 
common  dust.  Their  glory  is  departed.  The  festivities  at 
their  birth,  or  at  their  marriage,  or  at  their  investment  with 
the  insignia  of  royalty,  or  in  commemoration  of  the  victories 
they  achieved,  as  well  as  the  solemnities  of  their  funeral,  are 
all  ended.  They  have  gone  to  that  other  world,  of  which 
they  probably  thought  little  while  in  this ;  and  if  they  went 
unholy,  they  are  '  unholy  still.' 

"July  21.  In  returning  early  this  morning  from  San  Ste- 
fano  in  a  boat,  when  we  were  just  opposite  the  Sultan's 
powder  manufactory,  a  part  blew  up.  The  cloud  of  smoke 
that  went  up  was  tremendous,  and  a  shower  of  saltpetre 
afterwards  came  down  upon  us,  although  we  must  have  been 
near  a  mile  from  the  shore.  We  have  since  learned  that  five 
persons  were  killed. 

"July  27.  A  terrible  storm  of  thunder,  lightning,  hail, 
wind,  and  rain.  Many  boats  were  destroyed,  and  about  a 
hundred  lives  lost." 


PERSECUTION.  229 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  opening  of  the  year  1839  marked  a  new  era  in  the 
history  of  the  American  mission  at  the  Turkish  capi 
tal.  It  was  the  commencement  of  the  first  severe  persecu 
tion  which  the  evangelical  Armenians  were  called  to  endure. 
Hitherto  there  had  not  been  wanting  manifestations  of  bitter 
hostility  on  the  part  of  the  ruling  powers  of  the  Armenian 
Church.  Efforts  had  been  made  at  different  periods  to  arrest 
the  progress  of  evangelical  principles,  by  breaking  up  the 
schools  which  had  been  established  under  missionary  au 
spices  ;  by  prejudicing  the  minds  of  the  people  against  the 
foreign  teachers,  and  circulating  slanderous  reports  against 
them ;  by  warning  the  people  against  their  doctrines ;  and 
by  threatening  with  excommunication  all  who  should  give 
any  heed  to  their  teachings.  Thus  far,  however,  the  rage  of 
the  Armenian  leaders  had  been  expressed  chiefly  in  words. 
None  of  those  who  embraced  the  principles  of  the  Gospel 
had  been  visited  with  civil  pains  and  penalties,  and  few  with 
excommunication.  But  the  end  of  this  comparatively  peace 
ful  state  of  things  came  at  last.  The  storm  broke  suddenly, 
and  those  who  had  renounced  the  superstitions  and  idolatries 
of  their  church  were  almost  overwhelmed  by  its  violence. 

In  order  to  understand  how  the  leaders  of  a  nominally 
Christian  community  could  inaugurate  and  carry  on  a  syste 
matic,  high-handed  persecution  against  their  former  brethren, 
under  the  government  of  a  Mohammedan  power,  and  inflict 
upon  them  actual  punishment,  it  will  be  necessary  to  refer 
again,  and  more  minutely,  to  the  peculiar  constitution  of 
things  under  which  the  various  nations  were  living  in  Tur 
key.  This  system  of  government  was  established  when  the 


230          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

Ottoman  Turks  took  Constantinople.  It  seems  to  have  been 
adopted  to  relieve  the  Sultan  and  his  ministers  of  the  trouble 
of  looking  after  the  various  classes  of  people  that  were  under 
the  control  of  the  Porte.  It  is  a  marvel  that  it  worked  even 
as  .miserably  well  as  it  did  ;  but  it  opened  the  door  for  a  vast 
amount  of  oppression  and  misrule. 

The  Turkish  government,  of  which  the  Sultan  was  the 
despotic  head,  was  supreme ;  but  only  the  Turks  and  other 
Mohammedans  were  directly  amenable  to  its  authority.  All 
other  nations,  such  as  the  Greeks,  Armenians,  and  Jews,  had 
each  its  own  head  and  its  own  government,  which  was  liter 
ally  an  imperium  in  imperio.  By  the  fundamental  law  of 
the  empire,  each  nation  was  a  distinct  community,  and  at 
tended  to  its  own  affairs  very  much  as  if  there  were  no  other 
government  existing  in  Turkey.  The  Armenians,  for  in 
stance,  had  their  patriarch,  appointed  by  the  Sultan  and 
ranking  with  the  higher  Turkish  pashas,  who  was  held 
responsible  for  the  government  and  the  good  conduct  of  that 
nation,  and  who  was  invested  for  this  purpose  with  almost 
unlimited  authority  over  his  people.  Though  nominally  and 
really  subject  to  the  Sultan,  his  acts  were  seldom  interfered 
with,  however  arbitrary  or  oppressive  they  might  be,  so  long 
as  they  did  not  affect  the  Mohammedans.  He  was  both  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  head  of  his  nation,  and  had  authority  to 
inflict  both  civil  and  ecclesiastical  penalties.  One  form  of 
punishment,  dreaded  almost  as  much  as  death,  that  of  ban 
ishment  to  distant  parts  of  the  empire,  he  could  not  inflict ; 
but  an  order  of  banishment  was  easily  obtained  from  the 
Sultan,  especially  if  the  application  for  it  were  accompanied 
with  a  suitable  bribe. 

Every  Christian  or  Jewish  subject  of  the  country  must 
necessarily  be  connected  with  some  one  of  these  communities, 
and  must  be  regularly  enrolled ;  nor  could  any  one,  of  his 
own  choice,  transfer  his  connection  from  one  to  another. 
To  do  so  was  an  offence,  —  a  kind  of  rebellion  against  the 
supreme  authority,  the  Ottoman  Porte.  And  not  only 


PECULIAK   FORM   OF   GOVERNMENT.  231 

this,  each  community  or  nation  was  divided  into  a  variety  of 
guilds^  each  trade  or  occupation  forming  a  sort  of  caste,  and 
every  member  of*  the  community  must  be  enrolled  in  one  of 
these,  and  no  one  was  allowed  to  change  from  one  to  another. 
He  was  known  in  the  community  as  belonging  to  a  particular 
guild,  arid  must  have  his  certificate,  and  be  prepared  to  ex 
hibit  it  to  the  Turkish  officials  whenever  it  was  demanded. 
This  social  police  was  administered  with  great  strictness. 

The  wealthiest  class  in  the  whole  Turkish  empire  were  the 
Armenian  bankers.  Even  the  Turkish  pashas  and  other 
officials  were  dependent  upon  them  for  money  in  securing 
their  appointments,  and  for  advances  on  which  to  live  and 
maintain  their  positions ;  and  their  wealth  gave  them  a  con 
trolling  influence  among  their  own  people.  The  bankers  in 
reality  were  more  powerful  than  the  patriarch  himself  ;  for, 
in  addition  to  their  pecuniary  influence,  they  had  the  making 
and  the  unmaking  of  the  patriarch.  He  was  appointed  by 
the  Sultan  on  their  nomination,  and  usually,  when  they 
demanded  it,  he  was  set  aside  by  the  same  authority.  Prac 
tically  they  controlled  the  administration  of  affairs  in  their 
own  community,  their  views  and  wishes  being  carried  out  by 
the  patriarch.  With  very  few  exceptions,  they  were  exceed 
ingly  bigoted  in  their  religious  opinions,  being  violently 
opposed  to  the  new  doctrines  and  the  spiritual  worship 
which  threatened  to  supersede  the  superstition  and  mummery 
of  the  ancient  church.  In  the  peculiar  social  as  well  as 
religious  organization  of  the  Armenian  nation,  the  patriarch 
and  his  priests,  who  themselves  were  generally  the  tools  of 
the  bigoted  bankers,  had  absolute  control  over  the  Armenian 
people.  Not  only  could  they  cast  them  out  of  the  church, 
but  whenever  they  chose  to  put  a  ban  upon  any  man,  they 
could  break  up  his  business,  cut  him  off  from  all  intercourse 
with  others,  even  friends  and  neighbors,  deprive  him  of  the 
means  of  subsistence,  and  reduce  him  to  the  condition  of  the 
dogs  in  the  streets,  and  all  this  without  the  fear  of  interfer 
ence  on  the  part  of  the  Turkish  authorities. 


232          FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

Just  at  this  period,  too,  the  Armenian  patriarch  having 
shown  some  degree  of  leniency  toward  the  evangelical  con 
verts,  if  not  a  decided  leaning  toward  evangelical  doctrines, 
the  bankers  secured  the  appointment  of  an  assistant  patriarch, 
who,  according  to  custom,  took  the  reins  into  his  own  hands, 
and  proved  himself  an  uncompromising  bigot. 

There  was  still  another  class  of  the  Armenian  race,  the 
most  bigoted  of  all,  from  whom  sprang  a  great  part  of  the 
opposition  which  the  missionaries  and  their  disciples  had  to 
encounter.  A  small  part  of  the  nation  were  subject  to  the 
pope  in  religious  matters,  in  communion  with  the  Church  of 
Rome,  and  breathed  the  true  spirit  of  popery.  They  were 
intensely  hostile  to  evangelical  truth,  and  used  all  their  influ 
ence,  openly  and  by  intrigue,  to  stir  up  the  whole  nation 
against  the  missionaries  and  their  work.  Not  that  they 
loved  the  Armenian  Church,  but  they  hated  the  Gospel  more. 
Nearly  all  the  interference  that  the  American  missionaries 
met  with  in  prosecuting  their  work  in  the  Turkish  em 
pire  had  its  origin  with  these  emissaries  of  Rome,  or  was 
sedulously  fostered  and  promoted  by  this  universal  enemy  of 
the  truth. 

Such  was  the  state  of  things  at  the  commencement  of  the 
year  1839,  when  the  assistant  patriarch,  sustained  by  nearly 
all  the  Armenian  clergy,  and  urged  on  by  the  bankers,  deter 
mined  upon  decisive  measures  for  extirpating  the  novel 
heresy.  How  many  had  adopted  it  was  not  known,  for 
none  had  actually  left  the  communion  of  the  Armenian 
Church ;  but  it  was  evident  that  the  leaven  of  the  Gospel 
was  beginning  to  work,  and  the  rulers  thought  that  a  few 
decisive  blows  would  strike  terror  into  the  hearts  of  all,  and 
arrest  the  progress  of  the  evil.  The  bigoted  leaders  knew 
nothing  of  the  power  of  divine  grace  in  the  hearts  of  men, 
nothing  of  the  might  of  the  Holy  Spirit  that  was  moving 
upon  the  minds  of  many  of  the  people. 

On  the  19th  of  February,  Mr.  Sahakian,  an  evangelical 
Armenian,  who  had  been  in  the  employ  of  the  American 


CHRISTIANS   BANISHED.  233 

mission,  and  who  was  then  at  the  head  of  the  most  impor 
tant  school,  was  arrested,  and,  without  even  being  informed 
of  the  charges  made  against  him,  was  thrown  into  prison. 
He  was  a  man  of  the  purest  and  most  inoffensive  character, 
and  the  only  accusation  that  could  with  truth  be  brought 
against  him  was  that  he  had  renounced  the  superstitious  rites 
and  ceremonies  of  the  Armenian  Church,  and  become  a  hum 
ble  follower  of  the  Saviour.  Other  charges,  indeed,  were 
made.  He  was  accused  of  sorcery,  and  of  having  the  power 
to  bewitch  others. 

Soon  after,  another  man  of  the  same  character,  Boghos 
Fizika,  was  seized  and  thrown  into  the  patriarch's  prison. 
Within  four  days  an  order  was  obtained  from  the  Turkish 
government  for  sending  them  into  exile,  four  hundred  miles 
from  the  capital ;  and  they  were  hurried  away  under  charge 
of  officers  who  treated  them  with  the  greatest  cruelty.  A 
banker  also,  who  had  been  on  friendly  terms  with  the  mis 
sionaries,  was  arrested  and  confined  among  lunatics ;  and  a 
bedlam  in  Turkey  is  a  more  shocking  place  of  confinement, 
even  for  a  lunatic,  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  The 
following  month,  Der  Kevork,  the  pious  priest  already  men 
tioned,  was  cast  into  prison,  and,  with  other  leading  men  who 
had  embraced  evangelical  sentiments,  was  banished.  The  pa 
triarch,  who  had  previously  promulgated  an  order  forbidding 
all  intercourse  with  the  missionaries,  or  even  reading  their 
books,  and  requiring  all  who  had  any  in  their  possession  to 
deliver  them  up  to  their  bishop  or  confessor,  now  issued  a 
bull,  threatening  with  terrible  anathemas  all  who  should  have 
any  thing  to  do  with  the  foreign  teachers.  The  Greek  patri 
arch,  too,  sent  forth  his  bull,  excommunicating  all  who  should 
sell,  buy,  or  read  the  books  of  the  Lutherans  or  Calvinists, 
as  the  missionaries  were  called.  Many  persons  were  arrested 
on  mere  suspicion  of  having  adopted  heretical  opinions,  their 
business  was  broken  up,  and  their  families  were  in  distress 
for  want  even  of  the  necessaries  of  life. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  this  persecution,  Mr.  Goodell  wrote 
to  Mr.  Temple  at  Smyrna,  Feb.  24,  1839:  — 


234          FORTY   YEARS  IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

"  This  is,  indeed,  a  day  of  rebuke  and  blasphemy.  Many 
are  our  adversaries,  but  we  give  ourselves  unto  prayer. 
Many  there  be  that  rise  up  against  us,  but  we  have  much 
confidence  that  He  is  with  us,  who  will  count  for  more  than 
the  whole  world  beside.  Hohannes  and  Boghos  Fizika  are 
both  of  them  sent  into  exile,  each  a  distance  of  forty  days' 
journey.  Others  are  called  up,  and  it  is  said  there  is  a  list 
of  five  hundred  names,  including  bishops,  priests,  bankers, 
&c.,  who  are  known  to  be  evangelical,  and  who  are  to  be  ex 
amined.  Our  friends  appear  remarkably  well.  Instead  of 
being  disheartened,  they  appear  cheerful  and  happy,  full 
of  peace  and  courage.  They  really  seem  to  have  got  hold  of 
something  which  they  think  is  reality,  substance,  worth  pos 
sessing,  —  better  even  than  life.  Oh,  what  a  blessed  Saviour ! 
and  what  blessed  promises!  worth  living  for  and  worth 
dying  for." 

April  22d  he  wrote :  — 

"I  have  just  learned  that  five  or  six  more  individuals 
are  sent  into  exile,  among  whom  are  Der  Kevork  and  two 
bishops.  They  have  gone  in  various'  directions,  and  will,  I 
trust,  do  much  good.  If  the  Lord  go  with  them,  it  is  better 
to  go  than  to  stay  without  Him.  If  they  have  His  presence, 
they  will  have  life  and  peace.  And  wherever  they  go,  may 
they  kindle  such  a  fire  as,  by  the  grace  of  God,  shall  never 
be  put  out !  It  is  rather  a  strange  thing  here  to  have  people 
taken  out  of  their  beds  at  midnight  and  sent  off  into  exile, 
without  even  the  form  of  a  trial ;  no  questions  asked ;  no 
opportunity  given  any  one  to  recant.  May  He  who  ap 
peared  unto  John  in  Patmos  manifest  Himself  also  unto 
these,  as  He  does  not  unto  the  world! 

"  I  find,  on  inquiry,  that  only  four  are  sent  into  banishment, 
viz.,  that  godly  priest,  with  a  teacher  in  the  school  at  Orta 
Keuy,  into  European  Turkey ;  and  a  bishop  at  Orta  Keuy, 
with  the  former  Bishop  of  Tocat,  into  Asia.  Every  heart  is 
smitten  with  terror,  for  no  one  knows  where  the  next  blow 
will  fall.  No  one  knows,  when  he  lies  down  at  night,  but  he 
may  be  on  his  way  to  some  place  of  exile  before  morning. 
May  the  Lord  come  down  as  in  days  of  old,  and  make  the 
mountains  melt  at  His  presence." 

In  the  midst  of  these  scenes  of  trial  and  persecution  Mr. 
Goodell  makes  this  characteristic  record  of  a  new  arrival  at 
his  home. 


BIRTH    OF   A   SON.  235 

"  On  the  20th  inst.  a  new  missionary  joined  us.  He  came 
without  a  partner,  and  without  any  outfit ;  and,  as  is  usual 
with  all  new  comers,  he  boards  for  the  present  in  my  family, 
till  he  shall  become  acquainted  with  the  languages  and  cus 
toms  of  the  country ;  so  that,  what  with  his  entire  ignorance, 
and  what  with  his  entire  dependence  on  us  for  even  his  ordi 
nary  clothing,  we  are  full  of  business  these  days.  In  other 
words,  a  week  ago  yesterday  morning,  a  third  son  and  seventh 
child  was  added  to  my  family ;  and  we  pray  that  they  all 
may  be  like  the  seven  lamps,  which  burn  for  ever  before  the 
throne  of  God.  I  had  looked  forward  to  this  event  with 
more  than  ordinary  anxiety,  but  the  Lord  was  better  to  us 
than  our  fears,  and  instead  of  diminishing  our  numbers  hath 
added  thereto ;  and  if  Job  could  say,  '  Blessed  be  the  name 
of  the  Lord,'  how  much  more  should  we !  He  hath  not 
dealt  with  us  after  our  sins,  nor  rewarded  us  according  to  our 
iniquities. 

"  The  children  have  looked  through  the  whole  Old  and 
New  Testament,  with  all  history,  ancient  and  modern,  for  a 
name,  but  without  success.  This,  however,  is  not  our  greatest 
trouble.  Our  principal  concern  is,  that  he  may  have  that 
new  name  which  no  man  knoweth,  save  he  that  receiveth 
it ;  and  that  his  name,  whatever  it  may  be,  may  be  written  in 
heaven.  May  the  day  of  his  death  be  better  than  the  day 
of  his  birth !  " 

June  24th  he  writes :  — 

"  Our  friends  do  not  appear  to  be  discouraged,  or  to  feel 
that  all  is  lost.  We  receive  from  time  to  time  most  unequiv 
ocal  assurances  of  their  confidence  and  good  feeling.  Some, 
who  do  not  dare  to  visit  us,  have  sent  us  their  Christian 
salutations,  and  assure  us  that  the  people  generally  have  no 
sympathy  in  these  violent  measures,  and  that  the  storm  may 
be  expected  soon  to  pass  away.  Some  of  them  represent 
the  patriarch  as  holding  a  little  taper  in  his  hand  to  light 
them  along,  which,  wrhile  the  darkness  continued,  answered 
a  good  purpose ;  but  now,  the  sun  being  up,  the  taper  cannot 
be  seen,  while  the  patriarch  still  insists  that  they  shall  all 
turn  away  their  eyes  from  the  sun  and  walk  by  his  taper, 
as  heretofore.  But  a  light  from  heaven,  brighter  even  than 
the  mid-day  sun,  may  yet  shine  round  about  him,  as  it  did 
about  Paul,  and  bring  him  to  renounce  all  the  sparks  of  his 
own  kindling  for  ever. 


236  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

"The  Turkish  book,  of  which  much  use  has  evidently 
been  made  against  us,  was  published  many  years  ago,  and, 
I  believe,  at  Astrachan.  We  have  none  of  us  ever  seen  it, 
though  we  have  often  heard  of  it.  It  is  the  same  book  which 
our  enemies  made  use  of  with  the  Sultan  in  obtaining  a 
firman  against  the  Scriptures  and  all  our  tracts,  fourteen  or 
fifteen  years  ago,  while  I  was  in  Syria.  So  the  book,  which 
has  evidently  contributed  to  stir  up  the  Armenians,  came 
overland  all  the  way  from  India.  Missionaries  must  re 
member  that  they  are  acting  for  those  afar  off  as  well  as 
those  that  are  near,  and  for  future  years  as  well  as  for  the 
present  time.  Books  may  be  useful  in  one  place,  while  they 
would  be  very  dangerous  in  another ;  nor  can  missionaries  or 
their  helpers  always  judge  aright  as  to  what  is  most  impor 
tant  to  be  published  to  the  world.  As  missionary  operations 
are  extended  and  multiplied,  and  opposition  to  them  is  or 
ganized  and  strengthened,  greater  care  than  ever  will  be 
necessary  in  this  respect;  and  the  church  should  give  her 
agents  a  special  remembrance  in  her  prayers  in  reference  to 
this  very  thing.  No  missionary  '  liveth  unto  himself,'  in  a 
most  emphatic  sense.  I  am  persuaded  that  we  at  Constanti 
nople  could  at  any  time  do  that  which  would  endanger  every 
mission  of  every  society  in  the  whole  Turkish  empire ;  and 
all  this  without  its  seeming  to  our  patrons  at  home  that  we 
had  been  guilty  of  any  indiscretion. 

"  Every  thing  is,  to  appearance,  now  hushed  respecting  our 
friends,  and  the  attention  of  all  these  rulers,  civil  and  ecclesi 
astical,  has  for  several  weeks  past  been  directed  almost  ex 
clusively  to  ourselves  and  our  brethren  at  the  other  stations, 
their  aim  being  nothing  less  than  to  effect  our  entire  removal 
from  the  country.  Whole  kingdoms  are  moved  against  us  for 
this  purpose,  and  the  ferment  is  sometimes  so  great  that  all  the 
elements  seem  to  be  in  motion.  The  very  *  mountains  smoke, 
as  though  God  himself  had  come  down  and  touched  them.' 
And,  if  He  has  indeed  come  to  set  up  His  glorious  kingdom, 
we  may  expect  to  see  '  the  hills  melt  like  wax  at  the  presence 
of  the  Lord,  at  the  presence  of  the  Lord  of  the  whole  earth.' 
And,  in  the  mean  time,  we  would  lift  up  our  hands  and  say, 
'  He  that  dwelleth  in  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High 
shall  abide  under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty.' " 

This  severe  persecution,  after  continuing  for  several  months, 
instead  of  abating,  only  waxed  fiercer  and  fiercer.  It  threat- 


PROVIDENTIAL    INTERPOSITION.  237 

ened  not  only  to  harass  to  the  bitter  end  all  who  should  give 
heed  to  the  gospel  of  Christ,  but  to  break  up  missionary 
operations,  and  to  sweep  away  all  the  work  of  years.  The 
missionaries  were  formally  accused  before  the  Turkish  au 
thorities  of  having  made  proselytes  from  the  Armenians,  an 
offence  against  the  Sublime  Porte,  and  it  was  evident  that  a 
strong  influence  was  brought  to  bear  upon  the  government 
to  secure  their  banishment  from  the  country.  When  the  storm 
broke  out,  they  were  nearly  all  providentially  absent.  Mr. 
Schauffler  had  gone  to  Vienna,  Mr.  Dwight  was  in  America, 
Mr.  Homes  had  gone  to  Mesopotamia ;  only  Mr.  Hamlin  with 
Mr.  Goodell  remained,  and  they  awaited  the  order  to  leave, 
determined,  since  they  had  committed  no  offence  against  the 
government,  that  they  would  leave  only  when  compelled  by 
the  government  to  do  so.  But  for  this  they  were  prepared, 
and,  in  anticipation  of  it,  Mr.  Goodell  carefully  secreted  in 
different  places  all  his  papers,  journals,  and  correspondence, 
lest  they  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy  and  be 
destroyed  during  his  banishment. 

Just  as  the  excitement  was  at  its  height,  and  the  apprehen 
sion  of  the  native  Christians  and  of  the  missionaries  them 
selves  was  most  aroused,  God  Himself  suddenly  interposed, 
and  by  a  series  of  striking  providences  arrested  the  hand  of 
persecution.  The  war  between  the  Sultan  and  Mohammed 
Ali  of  Egypt  having  been  renewed,  a  demand  was  made 
upon  the  several  patriarchs  to  furnish  recruits  for  the  army, 
always  an  unwelcome  mandate  to  the  Greeks  and  Armenians. 
Each  nation  or  community  at  the  capital  was  required  to  fur 
nish  several  thousand  men.  This  levy  of  troops  turned 
public  attention  from  ecclesiastical  affairs,  and  the  persecuted 
Christians  for  a  time  were  left  to  themselves.  An  army  of 
eighty  thousand  men  was  speedily  raised  and  sent  to  meet 
the  Egyptian  army,  but  on  the  24th  of  June  the  Turkish 
forces  were  completely  routed  near  Aleppo,  and  the  soldiers 
from  Constantinople  were  scattered  in  all  directions. 

The  news  of  this  great  disaster  never  reached  the  ears  of 


288          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

the  Sultan.  Before  the  tidings  were  received  at  the  capital, 
a  proclamation  was  issued  announcing  the  death  of  Sultan 
Mahmoud ;  and  his  son,  Abdul  Medjid,  a  youth  of  sixteen 
years,  was  proclaimed  his  successor.  Mr.  Goodell  recorded 
in  his  journal  these  two  events :  — 

"  July  1,  1839,  Monday.  To-day  Sultan  Mahmoud,  who 
has  been  lying  at  the  point  of  death  for  several  days,  was 
proclaimed  dead,  and  his  son,  Abdul  Medjid,  born  April  20, 
1823,  was  proclaimed  king  in  his  stead.  He  died  at  seven 
o'clock,  A.M.,  having  been  insensible  from  yesterday  afternoon. 
Dr.  Millingen,  an  English  physician,  who  informed  me  of 
his  death,  was  with  him  since  Friday.  No  one  of  his 
wives  or  children  came  into  his  room.  His  two  sons-in- 
law  were  present,  and  also  the  old  Seraskier  Pasha.  He 
said  nothing  about  his  kingdom,  his  successor,  or  his  depart 
ure. 

"  July  5.  Sultan  Abdul  Medjid  spent  last  night  at  the 
seraglio,  and,  it  is  said,  will  live  there.  His  aunt,  sister 
to  the  former  Sultan,  sent  him  a  present  of  half  a  dozen 
wives.  To-day  he  went  to  the  mosque  with  much  pomp 
and  ceremony.  The  old  Sultan  is  sincerely  lamented  by 
many,  especially  the  Christians;  Many  of  the  Christians 
wept,  as,  indeed,  they  had  reason  to,  for  all  his  measures 
were  for  their  good.  But  he  will  soon  be  forgotten." 

The  ceremony  of  girding  the  sword  on  the  new  Sultan, 
his  formal  inauguration,  took  place  on  the  llth  of  July, 
and  a  few  days  later  came  the  tidings  that  the  Capudan 
Pasha,  the  chief  admiral,  had  ignominiously  surrendered 
the  entire  Turkish  fleet  to  Mohammed  Ali.  But  for  the 
intervention  of  the  Allied  Powers  the  government  of  the 
Porte  would  have  been  annihilated.  As  it  was,  the  utter 
exhaustion  of  the  treasury  rendered  it  impossible  to  raise 
another  army  and  rebuild  the  navy. 

Upon  the  very  heels  of  these  disasters  came  another 
of  those  fearful  conflagrations  with  which  Constantinople  has 
been  so  often  visited.  On  the  9th  of  August,  nearly  if  not. 
quite  half  of  Pera,  where  Mr.  Goodell  was  living,  was  reduced 
to  ashes.  The  fire  broke  out  in  the  morning  in  the  midst 


OTHER   CALAMITIES.  239 

of  wooden  buildings,  which,  owing  to  a  long-continued 
drought,  had  become  like  tinder,  and  before  night  between 
three  and  four  thousand  houses  were  heaps  of  ashes,  and 
not  less  than  fifty  thousand  of  the  inhabitants  were  with 
out  a  home  or  a  shelter. 

In  addition  to  these  public  calamities,  the  Armenians 
were  visited  with  severe  personal  afflictions.  In  the  sudden 
reverses  of  the  government  and  the  country  some  of  the 
wealthiest  bankers  were  reduced  to  poverty,  one  of  them 
in  the  extremity  of  his  misfortunes  committing  suicide. 
The  hand  of  God  was  laid  heavily  upon  many  of  those 
who  had  been  leaders  in  the  persecution,  so  that  it  became 
a  common  remark  that  God  was  taking  the  side  of  the 
persecuted  and  vindicating  their  cause. 

In  the  shadow  of  all  these  public  and  domestic  calami 
ties  a  council  of  the  Armenian  leaders  was  called,  at  which 
it  was  resolved  that  those  who  had  been  sent  into  exile 
should  be  recalled,  and  that  the  rigorous  measures  against 
the  evangelical  converts  should  be  suspended.  There  was 
no  real  change  in  the  feelings  of  the  leaders,  but  they  were 
awed.  They  seemed  to  realize  that  the  hand  of  God  was 
lifted  against  them,  and  that  it  was  best  to  stay  the  persecu 
tion.  The  old  patriarch,  who  was  friendly  to  the  missiona 
ries,  was  reinstated,  and  the  assistant,  who  had  been  appointed 
to  the  office  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  most 
rigorous  measures,  was  dismissed.  One  after  another  of 
the  banished  returned ;  those  who  had  embraced  the  simple 
truths  of  the  Gospel  had  their  faith  confirmed ;  intercourse 
with  the  missionaries  was  resumed ;  their  own  labors  among 
the  people  were  taken  up ;  and  the  work  of  God  appeared 
to  receive  a  new  impulse. 

Another  gleam  of  light  broke  in  upon  the  darkness 
which  was  overspreading  the  mission  work  in  Turkey.  It 
came  from  above,  for  while  in  the  imperilled  condition  of 
the  Turkish  empire  there  were  state  reasons  which  led  to 
the  action  of  the  Sultan,  we  are  compelled  to  refer  directly 


240          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

to  the  leading  hand  of  God  this  first  decisive  act,  in  a  series 
of  remarkable  documentary  concessions  by  the  Ottoman 
Porte. 

In  opposition  to  all  the  traditions  of  Mohammedanism  and 
of  Turkish  rule,  Selim  III.,  who  came  to  the  throne  in 
1789,  had  commenced  the  work  of  reform,  but  the  power 
of  the  Janizaries  was  too  strong,  and  he  fell  a  victim  to 
their  hostility.  Mahmoud  II.,  almost  single-handed,  took  up 
the  work,  and,  finding  that  either  he  or  the  Janizaries  must 
perish,  just  at  the  moment  when  they  were  counting  on 
success  he  gave  the  order  that  they  should  be  put  to  the 
sword,  and  they  were  literally  exterminated.  Still  the 
whole  army  of  officials,  with  very  few  exceptions,  were  in 
favor  of  sustaining  the  ancient  abuses,  and  the  death  of 
Mahmoud  was  the  occasion  of  scarcely  concealed  joy  on 
the  part  of  the  bigoted  Mohammedans.  He  was  succeeded 
by  his  son  Abdul  Medjid,  a  youth  of  only  sixteen  years, 
who,  on  the  3d  of  November,  1839,  four  months  after  his 
accession  to  the  throne,  assembled  the  nobles  of  the  empire, 
not  only  the  Mussulmans,  but  the  deputies  of  the  Greeks, 
Armenians,  and  Jews,  together  with  the  ambassadors  of 
foreign  powers,  and  ordered  his  grand  vizier  to  read  to  the 
august  assemblage  the  first  formal  Bill  of  Rights,  the 
Magna  Charta  of  Turkey,  and  himself  set  the  example 
to  his  officials,  by  taking  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  new 
instrument. 

This  charter  is  known  as  the  Hatti  Sherif  of  Gul  Hane,* 
so  named  from  the  garden  of  the  Seraglio,  in  which  it  was 
promulgated.  It  did  not  touch  the  question  of  religious 
liberty  which  was  considered  in  later  firmans,  nor,  indeed, 
the  subject  of  religion  in  any  form,  being  confined  to  these 
three  points:  1.  Guaranteeing  to  all  the  subjects  of  the 
Porte  security  of  life, -honor,  and  property;  2.  A  regular 

*  For  the  full  text  of  the  Hatti  Sherif  of  Gul  Hane,  and  other 
imperial  decrees  relating  to  civil  and  religious  liberty,  see  the  Ap 
pendix. 


A   JEW   FINDING    THE   MESSIAH.  241 

system  of  levying  and  collecting  the  taxes ;  and  3.  An 
established  system  of  recruiting  the  army  and  defining  the 
period  of  service.  But  this  was  the  first  step  in  a  series 
of  constitutional  guarantees,  which  afterward  took  the  form 
of  charters  of  religious  freedom,  culminating  in  the  celebrated 
Hatti  Humayoun  of  1856. 

There  are  few  events  in  the  history  of  nations  more  re 
markable  than  these  attempts  at  reform,  and  these  constitu 
tional  guarantees,  emanating  not  from  the  demands  of  the 
people,  but  from  the  throne  of  one  of  the  most  despotic 
governments  that  has  ever  existed,  and  steadily  carried  for 
ward  in  opposition  to  the  wishes  of  the  official  force  of  the 
empire.  Europe,  it  is  true,  demanded  concessions  in  favor  of 
freedom,  especially  of  religious  freedom,  but  not  in  the  pre 
cise  form  in  which  they  were  first  made ;  and  one  cannot  fail 
to  recognize  a  higher  than  any  human  power  in  securing 
guarantees  so  opposed  to  the  genius  of  Islam  and  to  all  the 
traditions  of  the  empire. 

Mr.  Goodell's  mission  at  Constantinople  was  specially  to 
the  Armenians,  but  he  had  more  or  less  intercourse  with 
those  of  all  nationalities.  In  his  journal  he  has  the  follow 
ing  account  of  a  movement  among  the  Jews,  and  of  an  inter 
view  with  one  who  came  to  tell  him  that  he  had  found  the 
Messiah,  the  one  "of  whom  Moses  in  the  law  and  the 
prophets  did  write  : "  — 

"  February  8,  1840.  There  is  at  present  some  stir  among 
the  Jews  of  this  capital.  Their  chief  rabbies  had  led  them 
to  expect  that,  according  to  their  books,  the  Messiah  must 
absolutely  appear  some  time  during  the  present  year ;  but 
several  months  of  their  year  are  already  gone,  and  still  there 
are  no  signs  of  His  coming.  A  learned  rabbi,  who  assisted 
Mr.  Schauffler  in  his  translation  of  the  Scriptures,  occasion 
ally  visits  me,  and  almost  the  first,  sometimes  the  very  first 
question  I  always  ask  him,  as  he  enters  the  door,  is,  '  lias 
He  come  ? '  ( Not  yet,'  has  always  been  his  reply,  till  his  last 
visit  a  few  days  ago,  when,  laying  his  hand  on  his  heart,  he 
said  in  a  low  and  solemn  tone,  f  If  you  ask  me,  I  say  He  has 
11  p 


242          FORTY    YEARS   IN    THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

come ;  and  if  you  will  show  me  a  safe  place,  I  will  bring  you 
ten  thousand  Jews  to-morrow,  who  will  make  the  same  con 
fession.' 

"  I  replied,  '  The  apostles  and  prophets  had  no  safe  place 
shown  them  to  confess  truth  in  ;  but  they  made  the  confes 
sion  in  the  very  face  of  stripes,  imprisonment,  and  death.  If 
you  believe  the  promise  made  to  the  fathers  has  been  ful 
filled,  and  the  Messiah  has  come,  then  receive  Him  with  all 
the  honor  of  which  He  is  worthy,  submit  to  Him,  acknowl 
edge  Him,  follow  Him,  and  let  the  consequences  be  what  they 
may.  Act  like  Abraham,  like  Moses,  like  the  prophets,  like 
all  the  holy  and  good  of  your  nation,  though  like  some  of 
them  you  be  sawn  asunder,  though  you  be  slain  with  the 
sword.' 

"  But,  alas !  they  know  too  little  of  Christ,  and  feel  too 
little  interest  in  the  subject  to  venture  all  consequences  for 
His  sake.  How  can  men  believe  whose  hearts  are  altogether 
worldly !  Only  let  them  be  as  much  in  earnest  about  salva 
tion  as  they  are  about  the  perishing  objects  of  time,  only  let 
them  be  as  much  awake  to  things  eternal  as  they  are  to 
things  temporal,  and  they  will  no  longer  ask  for  a  safe  place 
to  confess  Christ  in.  And  only  let  the  churches  pray  as 
they  ought  for  these  perishing  people,  and  who  can  tell  but 
more  than  these  ten  thousand  will  be  so  baptized  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  that  in  the  face  and  to  the  utter  astonishment 
of  Jews,  Turks,  and  infidels,  they  will  come  forward  as  one 
man  to  be  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

Mr.  Goodell's  truly  catholic  spirit,  his  indifference  to  mere 
forms  and  modes  as  compared  with  the  reality  and  substance 
of  religion,  his  willingness  to  lay  aside  his  own  preferences  in 
things  non-essential  when  he  could  thereby  edify  any  mem 
ber  of  the  body  of  Christ,  are  exhibited  in  the  accompanying 
extracts  from  his  journal :  — 

"  October  19,  1840.  One  has  to  become  all  things  to  all 
men.  Who  is  there  that  has  not  his  preferences  so  strong 
as  to  amount  to  prejudices?  This  is  not  confined  to  the 
people  of  these  countries.  It  is  universal.  New  England 
itself  is  not  different  from  other  countries  in  this  respect. 
In  the  baptism  of  children  I  have  to  conform  to  all  these 
prejudices.  In  some  instances  I  must  put  on  the  gown,  and 


CATHOLIC   SPIRIT.  243 

in  others  leave  it  off.  In  some  I  must  wear  a  white  cravat,  and 
in  others  a  black  is  preferred.  In  some  two  or  three  cases 
I  have  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  ;  in  others,  I  am  told  to  have 
no  'popish  ceremonies,'  as  they  call  the  sign  of  the  cross. 
Some  are  afraid  I  shall  do  too  much,  and  others  are  afraid  I 
shall  do  too  little ;  while  each  one  thinks  his  own  views  of  the 
subject  are  a  perfect  standard.  One  wishes  it  to  be  done  ex 
actly  in  the  New  England  fashion,  and  another  as  it  is  done 
in  Old  England,  while  the  former  I  have  forgotten,  and  the 
latter  I  never  knew.  As  for  myself,  forms  are  alike  to  me, 
because  I  can  use  them  all  in  a  manner  to  instruct  and  edify  ; 
and  no  form  is  of  any  value  in  my  estimation  any  farther  than 
I  can  make  use  of  it  to  impress  the  observer  or  hearer. 

"  I  always  precede  the  ordinance  of  baptism  by  some  re 
marks  on  its  nature  and  importance,  such  as  I  love  to  make, 
and  such  as  I  could  make  on  no  other  occasion  so  well  as  on 
this.  So  when  I  make  the  sign  of  the  cross,  it  gives  me  an 
opportunity  of  speaking  some  things  which  I  love  to  say  in 
the  presence  of  a  congregation  when  they  are  all  awake 
to  listen.  In  baptizing  my  own  children  I  dress  as  when  I 
preach.  I  have  an  utter  abhorrence  of  forms  as  forms, 
whether  it  be  a  New  England  form  or  any  other.  Form  is 
nothing,  the  substance  every  thing.  When  another  baptizes 
my  own  children,  it  never  enters  my  mind  to  prescribe  how 
he  shall  baptize  it,  what  dress  he  shall  wear,  &c.  I  wish 
him  to  take  his  own  way,  and  to  render  the  service  as  profit 
able  to  the  parents  and  children,  and  as  edifying  to  all,  as 
possible. 

"  Some  of  my  brethren  in  these  countries  always  wear  a 
black  cravat  when  they  preach,  and  disdain  to  wear  a  white 
one,  being  as  much  set  in  one  way  as  some  of  their  hearers 
are  in  another.  As  for  myself,  I  would  disdain  nothing  but 
sin.  I  would  even  wear  an  Armenian  kulpach  (a  high,  black 
head-gear),  if  that  would  obtain  for  me  a  better  hearing ; 
though  if  wearing  that  were  made  indispensable  to  salvation, 
and  the  time  were  come  to  take  up  the  subject  in  all  its 
length  and  breadth,  then  I  would  no  more  wear  it  than  I 
would  perform  a  heathen  ceremony." 

The  letter  of  consolation  and  reminiscence  which  follows 
was  written  to  his  friend,  Professor  Haddock,  of  Dartmouth 
College,  on  seeing  a  notice  of  the  death  of  his  wife  in  an 
American  paper :  — 


244          FORiT   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 


CONSTANTINOPLE,  Dec.  11,  1840. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  I  learned  yesterday  by  the  "  Bos 
ton  Recorder "  that  you  have  been  visited  with  affliction ; 
while  another  of  those  favored  ones,  who  twenty-five  years 
ago  were  visited  by  infinite  grace,  has  now  gone  to  the  land 
of  everlasting  peace  and  love.  I  carried  the  paper  into  our 
weekly  prayer-meeting  last  evening,  and  read  the  account, 
and  you  had  a  special  remembrance  in  our  prayers.  I  also 
made  some  remarks  on  the  commencement  and  progress  of 
that  great  and  marvellous  work  of  God  at  Dartmouth, 
which  had  such  an  influence  on  the  college  and  on  the 
church  of  Christ.  I  have  never  known  a  revival  the  in 
fluence  of  which  appeared  to  me  to  be  more  important 
and  more  extensive.  All  those  interesting  scenes,  —  Oh, 
how  fresh  and  sweet  they  are  in  my  memory  still !  I  re 
member,  dear  brother,  the  first  prayer  you  ever  made  in 
public.  It  was  in  the  evening,  and  in  that  memorable  school- 
house  (does  it  stand  there  still  ?)  "  where  prayer  was  wont  to 
be  made  ;  "  and  Damon,  who  himself  soon  after  "  began  to  call 
upon  the  name  of  the  Lord,"  intimated  to  me,  in  walking 
home,  that  he  felt  it  was  high  time  to  attend  to  the  eternal 
interests  of  the  soul.  I  remember  when  Spaulding  first 
raised  his  spectacles  and  wiped  away  the  "  rivers  of  waters 
that  were  running  down  his  eyes,"  and,  lifting  up  his  hands 
and  his  voice,  addressed  the  overflowing  house  in  that  pecul 
iarly  strong  manner  which  had  been  so  natural  to  him  on 
other  subjects,  and  which  was  now  consecrated  to  the  great 
subject  of  salvation.  I  remember  wThen  those  fine  scholars 
in  your  class  and  mine  arid  the  next  after,  who  have  since 
become  presidents  and  professors  in  so  many  of  our  colleges, 
were  quickened  and  first  began  to  breathe  the  breath  of 
spiritual  life,  and  to  live  for  eternity.  I  remember  that 
evening  meeting  where  all  the  young  ladies  of  the  Plain 
were  assembled  at  Mrs.  Chapman's,  and  God  was  there,  and 
almost  all  of  that  lovely  circle,  if  not  every  one,  ultimately 
became  willing  to  welcome  the  reign  and  live  under  the 
government  of  Christ  for  ever.  I  remember  when  the  room 
of  Brother  Temple  and  myself  was  filled  from  morning  to 
night  with  our  classmates  and  other  students,  who  were  anx 
ious  to  learn  what  is  most  important  for  a  sinner  to  know, 
but  which  colleges  cannot  teach,  viz.,  how  the  righteousness 
of  God's  beloved  Son  could  become  theirs  ?  arid  when  from 
day  to  day  we  laid  aside  the  demonstration  of  mathematical 


LETTER  TO   PROFESSOR  HADDOCK.  245 

problems  to  attend  to  the  more  clear  and  more  important 
demonstrations  of  the  Spirit. 

Nor  have  I  forgotten  when  that  interesting  young  lady, 
who  subsequently  became  the  partner  of  your  joys  and  sor 
rows,  and  who  has  now  gone  to  join  "  the  general  assembly 
and  church  of  the  first-born  "  above,  was  examined  for  admis 
sion  into  the  church  here  below,  with  the  various  questions 
proposed  to  her  by  different  individuals  present  on  that  occa 
sion.  Oh,  what  delightful  meetings  we  had  in  college,  and 
on  the  Plain,  and  in  all  the  region  round  about ! 

"  Those  were  golden,  happy  days, 
Sweetly  spent  in  prayer  and  praise." 

In  Mr.  Lang's  family  I  spent  many  pleasant  hours,  the 
remembrance  of  which  is  pleasant  still.  And  though,  at 
first,  an  involuntary  sadness  begins  to  steal  over  the  mind  in 
the  reflection  that  the  whole  family,  root  and  branch,  is 
plucked  up  and  removed  for  ever,  yet  the  sadness  imme 
diately  gives  place  to  joy,  in  the  thought  that  it  is  an  un 
broken  and  a  happy  family  still,  and  that  its  removal  from 
all  these  earthly  scenes  is  not  into  a  darker  state,  but  into  one 
of  infinitely  greater  light  and  purity  and  blessedness.  Here, 
to  be  sure,  they  enjoyed  much,  but  there  they  will  enjoy  in 
comparably  more.  Here  they  inherited  a  little,  there  they 
will  "  inherit  all  things."  Here  they  had  a  pleasant  abode 
and  many  sincere  friends,  but  all  these  were  nothing  in  com 
parison  with  what  they  find  in  that  "  better  country,  even  an 
heavenly." 

Why,  then,  should  we  ever  think  or  speak  of  them  as  being 
dead,  when  it  is  we  who  are  dead,  and  they  —  they  now  have 
begun  to  know  in  reality  what  it  is  to  "  have  life,  and  to  have 
it  more  abundantly  "  !  Oh,  what  thanks  shall  we  render  to 
Him  who  came  down  from  heaven  for  no  other  purpose  but  to 
take  us  up  with  Him  to  His  own  glorious  kingdom  above !  And 
how  should  the  departure  of  one  and  another  of  our  friends, 
and  their  happy  entrance  into  that  blessed  kingdom,  quicken 
us  in  our  way  thither !  What  a  place  heaven  must  be,  where 
all  that  is  worth  preserving  from  this  world,  and  all  that  is 
worth  seeing  and  knowing  and  loving  from  any  other  world, 
is  there  collected  and  made  perfect !  WThile,  then,  you  have 
my  sympathy  in  your  loss  here  below,  you  have  also  my 
hearty  congratulations  on  the  increase  to  your  friends  above. 
If  those  that  love  us  most  are  diminishing  in  number  here, 


246  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

they  are  increasing  in  number  there ;  and  how  could  we  have 
it  better  ? 

Present  my  very  affectionate  and  my  Christian  salutations 
to  any  of  my  friends  whom  you  may  see,  and  who  may  in 
quire  after  me.  In  the  prosperity  of  the  college  I  ever  feel 
the  liveliest  interest.  The  portrait  of  President  Brown  I 
have  framed,  and  it  hangs  in  my  parlor  with  Worcester, 
Evarts,  Wisner,  and  Cornelius. 

Eighteen  years  day  before  yesterday  since  we  sailed  from 
New  york ;  and  what  was  then  outside  of  that  city  is  now, 
I  suppose,  about  the  centre.  Should  we  ever  return  to  our 
native  country,  we  should  neither  know  nor  be  known,  recog 
nize  nor  be  recognized.  Eighteen  years !  but  I  feel  that  I 
have  during  this  time  been  an  exceedingly  unprofitable  ser 
vant,  and  must  confess  my  utter  uriworthiness,  and  look  for 
pardon,  where  all  the  perishing  of  our  race  have  to  look,  if 
they  would  obtain  the  forgiveness  of  their  sins,  and  an  in 
heritance  among  the  sanctified  ones.  You  will  rejoice  to 
hear  that  the  severe  persecution  we  have  suffered  has  now 
ceased,  and  that  the  scattered  converts  are  recollected  with 
an  increase  of  faith  and  zeal.  The  Lord  seems  to  be  turn 
ing  our  captivity  as  the  streams  of  the  south,  and  we  are 
hoping  for  times  of  refreshing  from  His  presence. 

Mrs.  Goodell  unites  in  kind  regards  and,  although  it  will 
come  late,  Christian  sympathy  for  you  and  yours.  May  we 
hope  in  due  time  to  be  cheered  by  receiving  an  answer  to 
this !  I  have  written  more  than  I  intended,  but  I  do  not 
know  that  I  need  ask  you  to  excuse  it,  as  it  comes  from 
your  ever  affectionate  brother  in  Christ, 

W.  GOODELL. 

In  a  letter  to  a  fellow-missionary,  dated  March  8,  1841,  he 
makes  mention  of  some  of  his  minor  trials,  and  of  the  occa 
sion  he  had  to  exercise  his  own  good  judgment  in  regard  to 
the  mode  of  prosecuting  his  work  :  — 

"  Many  thanks  for  your  long  letter,  which  was  as  full  of 
kindness  as  of  explanation.  I  regret  that  I  was  able  to  see 
so  little  of  you  while  you  were  within  our  little  circle ;  but, 
in  order  to  enjoy  a  visit,  I  must  go  from  Constantinople,  the 
hurry  and  distraction  here  are  too  great.  Mr.  Evarts  once 
told  me  he  had  neither  made  nor  received  a  visit  of  friend 
ship  for  many  years,  and  had  no  expectation  of  ever  being 


VIEWS   OF   DUTY.  247 

•^ 

able  to  have  such  a  pleasure  again.  I  remember  I  thought 
at  the  time  it  was  very  hard,  and  could  hardly  persuade  myself 
it  was  his  duty  thus  to  deny  himself.  Now  let  me  tell  you 
some  of  my  own  troubles  and  sorrows,  that  we  may  the  bet 
ter  sympathize  with  one  another,  bear  one  another's  burdens, 
pray  for  one  another,  and  feel  that  we  are  not  alone  in  trouble 
and  sorrow,  but  that  the  same,  or  similar  ones,  are  suffered  by 
others. 

u  Some  letters  which  I  receive  have  constant  reference  to 
my  family,  as  though  I  were  specially  deficient  in  my  duty  to 
them,  and  needed  to  devote  more  time  and  thought  for  them. 
Others  have  constant  reference  to  my  translations,  as  though 
I  needed  to  be  stirred  up  to  the  importance  of  prosecuting 
the  work  with  vigor,  and  not  suffer  my  translator  or  the 
press  to  stand  idle  through  my  neglect.  Others  leave  every 
thing  else  out  of  the  question,  as  of  no  comparative  impor 
tance,  and  urge  it  upon  me  to  preach,  preach,  preach.  Others, 
again,  from  the  various  missionary  stations,  and  from  all 
parts  of  America,  are  calling  for  letters,  and  blaming  me  for 
not  answering  theirs.  Many,  many  of  my  friends  are  of 
fended  with  me,  and  some  of  them  say  hard  things  about  me, 
while  all  the  time  I  feel  that  it  is  I,  and  not  they,  who  suffer 
from  the  want  of  this  correspondence.  Now  what  to  do  I 
know  not.  I  would  most  gladly  give  my  time  to  my  friends  ; 
I  would  give  it  all  to  my  family ;  I  would  devote  it  all  to  the 
great  work  of  translating  the  word  of  God  ;  and  I  would  with 
all  my  heart  spend  it  in  publishing  the  good  news.  But  to 
devote  the  whole  of  it  to  each  one  of  these  objects  is  an  im 
possibility.  Only  a  certain  portion  can  be  given  to  each,  and 
as  one  may  receive  more,  another  must  receive  less.  Now, 
if  any  one  could  tell  me  exactly  how  to  proportion  the 
amount  to  be  given  to  each,  I  should  be  thankful.  But, 
while  everybody  seems  to  feel  that  I  am  very  deficient  some 
where,  nobody  seems  to  agree  with  his  neighbor  as  to  where 
the  deficiency  lies ;  and  I  seem  to  myself  to  be  like  the  poor 
man  who  tried  to  please  everybody,  and  pleased  nobody,  and 
accomplished  nothing  for  himself.  I  must  try  more  to  please 
my  blessed  Lord,  and  let  the  whole  world  go." 


248          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

r  I  "HE  year  1841  was  a  year  of  severe  domestic  affliction 
•*•  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Goodell.  Mrs.  Goodell,  who  more 
than  once  before  had  been  very  low  with  sickness,  was  again, 
in  the  spring  of  this  year,  brought  to  the  borders  of  the 
grave,  and  several  members  of  the  family  were  prostrated 
by  the  same  disease,  —  a  malignant  and  prevailing  fever.  So 
repeated  and  protracted  were  these  visitations,  that,  toward 
the  close  of  the  following  year,  Mr.  Goodell  wrote :  "  It  is 
now  more  than  two  years  since  the  voice  of  health  has  been 
heard  in  our  habitation." 

But  the  hand  of  God  was  laid  yet  more  heavily  upon  the 
stricken  household,  and  one  who  was  peculiarly  dear  to  their 
hearts,  the  child  of  promise  and  of  hope,  the  first-born  of 
Americans  in  the  city  of  the  Sultans,  the  one  who  had  re 
ceived  his  name  from  the  city  of  his  birth  and  the  land  of  his 
fathers,  Constantine  Washington,  after  a  very  trying  illness, 
was  removed  beyond  the  reach  of  earthly  love.  He  was  the 
first  of  Mr.  Goodell's  children  from  whom  he  was  separated 
by  death,  and  the  only  one  whom  he  found  waiting  for  him 
at  the  heavenly  gates,  when  his  work  on  earth  was  done. 

We  do  not  recall  any  thing  more  touching  and  tender  than 
the  record  which  the  father  made  in  his  private  journal  of 
the  boy's  illness  and  protracted  suffering ;  of  his  own  prayer 
ful  solicitude,  not  so  much  for  the  recovery  of  the  lad  to 
health,  as  for  his  eternal  life  ;  of  the  quiet  submission,  mingled 
with  almost  broken-hearted  love  and  sorrow,  with  which  he 
gave  up  his  beloved  son,  when  it  became  evident  that  the 
separation  must  come.  That  journal,  written  from  day  to 


DEATH    OF    CONSTANT1NE   WASHINGTON.  249 

day,  filled  with  the  outpourings  of  a  fond  father's  heart,  con 
taining  all  the  little  details  of  parental  anxiety,  hope,  fear, 
sorrow,  submission,  trust,  is  too  sacred  to  be  transcribed. 
But  a  letter,  which  Mr.  Goodell  wrote  with  chastened  feel 
ings  to  his  own  aged  father,  a  few  weeks  after  the  angel  of 
death  had  visited  his  home,  contains  all  the  record  of  those 
scenes  that  needs  to  be  made  here.  j 

! 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  April  17,  1841. 

MY  DEAR  AND  HONORED  FATHER,  —  I  wrote  you  as  usual 
on  February  the  14th.  Since  that  time  we  have  been  visited 
with  affliction,  and  Constantine  Washington,  our  fourth  child 
and  second  son,  has  been  taken  from  time  and  probation  at 
the  age  of  nine  years  and  seven  months.  His  disease  was 
the  gastric  typhoid  fever,  which  has  been  very  prevalent  here 
this  spring,  and  which,  though  it  has  not  generally  proved 
mortal,  yet  in  his  case  set  at  defiance  all  medical  skill.  Day 
after  day,  during  the  space  of  three  weeks,  the  physicians 
came  and  looked  upon  him,  and  declared  his  case  hopeless. 

On  the  27th  ult.,  which  was  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  his 
illness,  and  while  his  life  was  hardly  expected  from  one  hour 
to  another,  Mrs.  Goodell  had  a  violent  attack  of  the  same 
fever,  and  was  immediately  removed  to  another  apartment  of 
the  house,  where  she  has  been  confined  ever  since.  That 
night  we  had  our  dear  boy's  grave-clothes  lying  ready  in  the 
chamber ;  but  there  was  a  little  change  for  the  better,  which 
during  several  succeeding  days  gradually  increased,  and  gave 
pleasing  indications  of  a  recovery.  But  the  inflammation  had 
continued  so  long,  that,  quite  unexpectedly  to  us,  ulcers  or 

fangrene  suddenly  finished  the  work  on  the  morning  of  the 
th  inst.,  after  thirty-five  days  of  intense  suffering. 

For  several  days  I  had  forgotten  to  pray  for  his  life,  unless 
when  praying  by  his  bedside,  nor  did  I  always  remember  it 
then.  Whether  he  were  to  be  removed  from  us  by  that  dis 
ease,  or  to  be  lent  to  us  a  little  longec,  seemed  of  compara 
tively  little  consequence.  And  the  idea  of  having  my  family 
broken  in  upon  in  that  way  was  as  nothing.  I  have  for  many 
years  been  looking  for  it,  and  endeavoring  from  day  to  day  to 
live  in  reference  to  it.  Temporal  life  seemed  a  trifle  in  com 
parison.  Eternal  life,  oh,  that, was  every  thing!  It  was 
this  which  occupied  all  my  thoughts  and.  called  forth  all  my 
prayers.  In  regard  to  the  other,  my  language  and  my  feel- 
11* 


250          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

ings  were  just  these :  If  them  seest  it  will  be  best  for  the 
child,  and  best  for  the  family,  and  best  for  thy  cause,  that  he 
live  still  longer  on  earth,  restore  him  in  thine  own  good  time  ; 
if  otherwise,  I  have  not  a  word  to  say ;  " Thy  will  be  done" 
But  for  the  blessings  of  salvation  I  felt  that  I  might  be 
importunate,  and  that  I  might  take  right  hold  on  everlasting 
strength,  and  say,  "  I  will  not  let  thee  go,  except  thou  bless 
me."  I  took  him  up  and  carried  him  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  and 
placed  him  in  His  hands,  and  said, "  He  is  no  longer  my  child, 
but  he  is  thine.  I  can  no  longer  provide  for  him  and  take 
care  of  him,  but  thou  canst.  He  will  no  longer  remain  in 
my  family  ;  receive  him  into  thine,  and  let  him  belong  to  thy 
blessed  household.  Wash  him,  cleanse  him,  make  him  whiter 
than  snow,  and  fit  him  for  thy  holy  presence  and  service." 

I  then  turned  to  the  child,  and  said,  "  You  can  no  longer 
live  with  me  ;  will  you  now  live  in  the  blessed  family  of 
Christ  ?  Will  you  honor  and  obey  Him  ?  Will  you  con 
form  yourself  to  the  rules  of  His  house  ?  Will  you  now 
give  Him  your  hand,  and  let  Him  lead  you  and  guide  you 
and  provide  for  you  for  ever  ?  "  He  answered  with  great 
composure,  "  Yes,  papa." 

I  felt  a  good  degree  of  confidence  that  I  had  placed  and 
left  our  dear  boy  in  the  hands  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  I  felt 
assured  that  He  would  not  refuse  to  take  what  was  thus 
given  to  Him,  nor  throw  from  His  arms  what  was  thus  con 
fided  to  them.  But  would  the  child  be  willing  to  stay  with 
Him  ?  Would  he  have  confidence  in  Him  ?  Would  he  go 
with  Him  ?  I  then  remembered  for  my  encouragement  that 
Christ  Himself  makes  His  people  willing  in  the  day  of  His 
power  ;  that  it  is  His  work  also  to  inspire  with  confidence, 
faith  being  His  own  gift ;  and  that  repentance,  too,  as  well 
as  forgiveness,  He  is  exalted  as  a  Prince  and  a  Saviour  to 
give.  This,  then,  formed  a  new  subject  of  prayer,  and  1 
laid  hold  of  it  and  used  it  accordingly,  with  very  great  com 
fort  and  satisfaction  to  myself,  for  here  was  every  thing  1 
had  occasion  for. 

In  the  former  part  of  his  sickness,  I  had  asked  him  if  he 
thought  of  God,  and  he  replied,  "  Yes,  papa,  and  I  pray  to 
Him."  When  I  told  him  for  the  first  time  that  he  could  not 
live,  but  must  soon  die,  he  very  composedly  closed  his  eyes 
for  a  few  moments.  On  his  opening  them,  I  asked  him  if 
he  was  praying,  and  he  said,  "Yes,  papa."  This  way  of 
closing  his  eyes  was  striking,  and  he  did  it  frequently  when 


LAST   HOURS.  251 

addressed  on  serious  subjects  during  his  illness.  When 
afterwards  I  repeatedly  asked  him  about  his  dear  mamma,  — 
if  he  knew  she  was  sick,  if  he  wished  to  see  her,  &c.,  —  he 
always  closed  his  eyes  in  the  same  composed  manner,  but 
never  answering  a  word,  as  though  he  felt  more  than,  through 
great  weakness,  he  was  able  to  express,  and  therefore  chose 
to  be  silent. 

One  morning  I  began  to  repeat  one  of  his  hymns,  which  I 
thought  suitable  to  his  state,  when  he  took  it  out  of  my 
mouth,  and  went  on  with  it  two  lines,  but  was  too  much 
exhausted  to  proceed,  and  I  finished  it  for  him.  Mrs.  Good- 
ell  had  previously  repeated  to  him  a  very  appropriate  hymn, 
with  which  he  was  unacquainted.  He  lay  a  few  minutes  in 
apparent  thought,  and  then  said,  "  Mamma,  what  was  that 
hymn  ?  "  and  she  repeated  it  to  him  again. 

Dr.  Gerstman,  a  Jewish  missionary,  who  was  much  inter 
ested  in  him,  and  had  previously  given  him  lessons  in  Hebrew, 
kindly  watched  with  him  several  nights.  On  one  of  those 
occasions  he  said  to  him,  "  You  know  the  Lord  Jesus  loves 
little  children  ?  "  "  Yes."  "  Do  you  love  to  have  the  Lord 
take  care  of  you  ?  "  "  Yes."  On  his  offering  up  various 
short  petitions  for  him,  the  child  always  added  "  Amen  "  at 
the  close. 

For  prayer  he  always  seemed  ready,  and  frequently  I 
offered  prayer  by  his  bedside  eight  and  ten  times  a  day. 
I  also  frequently  repeated  passages  of  Scripture  to  him,  or 
let  fall  some  remark  of  a  spiritual  nature,  when  I  gave  him 
drink,  or  ministered  in  any  way  to  his  wants. 

Some  days  after  the  change  for  the  better,  and  when, 
though  exceedingly  reduced,  he  appeared  to  be  returning  to 
dwell  among  the  living,  I  asked  him  if  he  remembered  my 
telling  him  that  he  could  not  live,  and  he  answered,  "  Yes, 
papa."  As  he  was  so  very  low,  I  said  no  more  ;  but  I 
anticipated  great  pleasure  in  recurring  to  these  scenes  as 
returning  health  and  strength  should  enable  him  to  bear  it. 

Two  days  before  his  death  he  repeatedly  asked  me  for 
"  David  Br.ainard's  Life,"  that  he  might  read  it.  I  finally 
carried  it  to  him,  and  suffered  him  to  pass  his  eye  over  a  sen 
tence  or  two  of  that  good  man's  experience,  promising  him  he 
should  read  the  book  as  God  should  give  him  strength.  I, 
however,  put  into  his  hands  some  Scripture  cards,  which  he 
looked  at  for  a  few  moments,  and  then  laid  aside  for  ever. 
During  that  day  his  little  strength  became  still  less ;  but  as 


252          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE  TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

I  attributed  it  to  the  operation  of  some  medicine  which  the 
physician  had  ordered,  I  felt  little  alarm.  An  unexpected 
repetition  of  the  same  the  next  day  reduced  him  yet  lower ; 
but  I  still  thought  that  it  was  only  weakness,  and  that  time 
and  patience,  with  God's  blessing,  would  restore  him. 

But  on  the  following  morning  the  watchers  spoke  to  me  a 
little  after  four  o'clock,  and  said  there  was  a  change  in  him 
for  the  worse.  I  arose,  and  found  his  eyes  fixed.  I  spoke 
to  him,  but  he  gave  me  no  answer.  I  took  his  hand,  but  he 
returned  no  sign  of  recognition.  We  succeeded  in  giving 
him  what  seemed  best  suited  to  restore  him,  but  he  was  evi 
dently  sinking  fast.  I  offered  a  prayer  by  his  bedside,  and 
then  hastened  to  the  sick  chamber  of  my  dear  partner  to  in 
form  her,  that,  if  she  had  any  more  petitions  to  offer  for  the 
beloved  child,  she  must  do  it  without  delay.  I  prayed  with 
her,  and  then,  calling  up  the  children,  I  returned  and  offered 
prayers  at  short  intervals  by  the  dying  child.  Mr.  Dwight's 
family  was  sent  for,  and  he  and  I  by  turns  prayed  at  short 
intervals,  till  the  dear  object  of  so  much  intense  interest  was 
no  longer  a  subject  of  prayer.  As  the  last  breath  was  quiv 
ering  on  his  lips,  I  committed  his  departing  spirit  into  the 
hands  of  Him  who  gave  it.  We  placed  him  in  the  faithful 
hands  of  our  blessed  Lord,  and  we  left  him  there.  As  I  put 
my  hands  upon  his  eyes,  and  closed  them  on  all  things 
below  the  sun,  I  prayed  that  he  might  open  them  on  an 
eternal  day.  I  arose,  kissed  his  yet  warm  forehead,  and  was 
retiring  when  Isabella,  who  stood  weeping  by,  ran  to  me, 
and  said,  "  Is  it  all  done,  papa  ?  "  "  Yes,  my  dear,  it  is  all 
done."  She  clung  to  me,  and  sobbed,  as  if  her  heart  would 
break.  I  said,  "  Will  you  go  and  kiss  your  beloved  brother 
once  more?"  She  did  so,  and  was  quieted.  The  other 
children  did  the  same,  and  I  then  immediately  assembled 
them  around  the  bedside  of  their  mother,  and  we  all  bowed 
down  together  before  Him  who  is  alike  good  when  He  giv- 
eth  and  when  He  taketh  away.  It  was  Thursday,  and  the 
very  day  when  Constantine  has  for  several  years  been  par 
ticularly  remembered  in  the  daily  concert  for  the  children 
of  our  families,  it  coming  round  to  him  in  turn  once  a  fort 
night.  This  was  his  day,  and  it  was  God's  day.  And  he 
died  just  about  the  very  time  when  I  have  been  accustomed 
to  hold  the  concert,  viz.,  at  seven  o'clock.  Blessed  day  !  and, 
as  I  would  hope,  an  infinitely  better  day  to  him  than  the  day 
of  his  birth ! 


SUBMISSION.  253 

During  all  that  day  I  was  enabled  to  view  the  dispensa 
tion  as  coming  from  the  hand  of  God,  and  I  felt  satisfied 
with  what  He  had  done.  At  three  o'clock,  P.M.,  our  friends 
and  neighbors  assembled,  and  we  sang,  — 

"  Friend  after  friend  departs : 
Who  hath  not  lost  a  friend  ? "  &c. 

Mr.  Dwight  made  some  remarks,  and  prayed,  and  I  added  a 
few  remarks  myself.  At  four  o'clock  Dr.  Bennet,  the  Eng 
lish  chaplain,  came,  and  we  "  took  up  the  body  and  buried  it, 
and  went  and  told  Jesus." 

But  the  next  day  I  wilted  down,  and  I  could  not  join  my 
children  in  singing  at  family  worship.  The  thought  would 
come  over  me  now  and  then  with  such  power  as  almost  to 
make  me  faint.  "  Perhaps  the  dear  boy  went  alone  into 
eternity  !  His  probation  is  ended  ;  his  day  of  grace  is  over ; 
and  perhaps  the  great  work  of  preparation  for  eternity  was 
not  done ! "  But  I  recollected  that  my  concern  was  not 
with  the  dead,  but  with  the  living ;  that  God  had  done  per 
fectly  right  in  removing  the  child  at  the  time  and  in  the 
manner  He  did ;  that  I  had  left  him  in  His  blessed  hands,  and 
had  no  right  to  interfere ;  and  that  I  should  be  guilty  of  un 
dervaluing  His  mercies,  did  I  not  bless  Him  for  all  His  kind 
ness  to  him,  and  for  whatever  reason  there  was  to  indulge 
hope  respecting  him.  I  felt,  too,  that  I  had  asked  for  him 
all  the  blessings  of  the  everlasting  covenant ;  that,  if  the 
Lord  should  give  me  another  day  to  intercede  for  him,  and 
should  say  to  me,  "  Ask  what  I  shall  do  for  him,"  I  could  not 
ask  for  any  greater  or  other  blessings  than  I  had  already 
asked  for  him,  nor  pray  with  more  fervency  than  I  had 
already  for  several  years  prayed  for  him,  nor  could  I  think 
of  any  thing  I  wished  to  tell  him  which  I  had  not  already 
told  him.  I  thought  this  also,  —  had  he  recovered,  we  should 
one  and  all  have  said  that  it  was  certainly  in  answer  to 
prayer.  But  we  prayed  far,  far  more  for  the  salvation  of 
his  soul  than  we  did  for  his  restoration  to  health.  And  our 
heavenly  Father  is  infinitely  more  ready  to  hear  us  for  spir 
itual  blessings,  than  He  is  for  temporal  blessings. 

Perhaps  so  many  prayers  have  never  been  offered  in  the 
same  space  of  time  in  Constantinople  for  one  individual,  as 
were  now  offered  for  him,  —  prayers  in  public  and  in  private, 
sometimes  also  in  social  circles  appointed  expressly  for  the 


254  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

purpose ;  prayers  offered  by  Greeks,  Armenians,  Germans, 
English,  and  Americans.  Most  of  those  who  assisted  in 
watching  with  him,  or  attending  upon  him,  were  persons  of 
prayer.  Special  prayers  were  also  offered  for  him  by  our 
friends  at  Smyrna,  Broosa,  and  Trebizond.  And  when  he 
lay  a  dying,  I  said,  perhaps  some  of  the  children  would  like 
to  offer  up  one  prayer  more  for  their  dying  brother ;  let  us 
all  bow  our  heads  and  offer  up  each  a  silent  petition  for  him. 
We  did  so.  But  the  last  prayer  is  now  offered. 

That  Constantine  had  for  many  months  been  conscientious 
in  observing  his  own  seasons  of  devotion,  I  have  reason  to 
believe.  I  often  questioned  him  about  them,  as  I  did  also 
the  other  children,  and  I  seldom  found  him  a  delinquent. 
At  the  concert  for  all  the  missionary  children  on  Sabbath 
evenings,  he  frequently  retired  with  his  elder  sisters  to  join 
with  them  in  prayer. 

He  was  very  affectionate  to  his  sisters,  often  sitting  with 
them,  bringing  them  flowers  when  he  walked  out,  and  consid 
ering  it  a  great  treat  to  be  allowed  to  remain  in  their  cham 
ber  with  them  to  read  some  good  book.  During  his  sickness, 
whenever  his  little  brother  was  brought  into  the  room,  even 
to  the  last  day  of  his  life,  he  always  beckoned  to  have  him 
come  and  receive  a  kiss. 

He  was  a  child  of  truth.  If  I  so  much  as  hinted  my  fears 
that  he  had  not  told  me  the  whole  truth  in  any  instance,  he 
would  often  burst  into  a  flood  of  tears. 

On  the  Sabbath  he  was  generally  reading  through  the 
whole  day,  when  not  attending  any  public  service.  And 
frequently,  if  he  found  something  that  pleased  him,  or  with 
which  he  thought  we  should  be  pleased,  he  would  ask  if  he 
might  read  it  to  us.  Frequently  also  would  he  rise  from  his 
seat  and  come  and  sit  on  my  knee,  when  I  have  been  ad 
dressing  the  children  on  Sabbath  evenings. 

He  was  a  child  of  great  simplicity  and  good-nature,  readily 
accommodating  himself  to  the  wishes  of  others  in  play,  and 
yielding  in  case  of  any  dispute. 

His  was  a  fine  form.  He  was  as  straight  as  an  arrow, 
well-proportioned ;  and  to  see  him  play,  or  throw  off  his 
clothes  and  work,  you  would  think  his  flesh  was  of  brass. 
But  he  is  dead  ! 

He  was  a  good  scholar ;  learned  with  facility ;  and,  con 
sidering  his  advantages,  had  made  very  satisfactory  progress 
in  his  various  studies.  He  had  also  committed  to  memory 


HIS    HYMNS.  255 

from  seventy  to  one  hundred  hymns,  "The  Child's  Daily 
Food,"  the  Assembly's  Catechism,  all  the  Gospel  of  John,  and 
the  Gospel  of  Matthew  as  far  as  to  the  middle  of  the  tenth 
chapter. 

He  always  told  me  that  he  would  preach  the  Gospel  of 
Christ.  But  he  can  preach  only  by  his  death.  And  oh 
that  his  early  death  might  be  the  means  of  life  to  all  his 
young  friends,  as  indeed  we  hope  it  has  been  to  some  of 
them ! 

During  his  sickness  he  never  appeared  in  the  least  degree 
agitated  with  the  fear  of  dying,  nor  elated  with  the  hope  of 
living.  His  frame  of  mind  was  composed,  and,  I  would  hope, 
resigned.  What  money  he  had,  amounting  to  more  than 
two  dollars,  mostly  given  him  at  different  times  by  friends, 
he,  at  my  suggestion,  requested  me  to  put  into  the  missionary 
box  at  the  monthly  concert. 

His  sufferings  were  great,  very  great;  but  his  patience 
was  remarkable.  I  often  turned  away  to  weep  at  beholding 
it.  His  principal  physician  repeatedly  said  that  he  had  never 
seen  such  patience,  and  that  as  for  himself  he  was  sure  it 
was  not  possible  for  him  to  exercise  so  much  of  it.  I  saw  no 
reason  to  doubt  then,  nor  in  looking  back  do  I  see  any  rea 
son  to  doubt  now,  but  that  he  was  by  the  grace  of  God  con 
scientiously  patient.  One  of  my  missionary  brethren,  who 
had  enjoyed  some  opportunity  of  witnessing  it,  has  since 
written  me,  "  I  only  pray  that,  if  ever  I  am  called  to  suffer 
what  he  suffered,  I  may  have  grace  given  me  to  endure  it  as 
patiently  as  he  did."  Sweet  sufferer !  and  He  in  whose  kind 
care  we  left  thee  did  suffer  every  thing  for  thee. 

I  have  many  more  similar  reminiscences  of  the  beloved 
child,  which  are  very,  very  precious  to  me,  and  on  which 
memory  dwells  with  great  fondness.  He  was  always  obedi 
ent  ;  and  he  was  "  obedient  even  unto  death,"  submitting  to 
whatever  his  physicians  prescribed,  however  unpleasant  or 
nauseous  it  might  be,  if  I  told  him  it  was  necessary. 

Not  long  before  he  was  taken  sick,  I  told  the  children  one 
Sabbath  evening  that,  if  they  had  any  hymn  which  particu 
larly  pleased  them,  they  might  read  it  to  me.  He  said  at 
once  he  knew  what  he  should  read ;  and  he  immediately 
turned  to  it  and  marked  it,  till  it  should  come  to  his  turn  to 
read.  He  then  immediately  turned  to  another  in  another 
book,  which  he  told  Isabella  was  a  good  one  for  her.  His 
own  hymn  was,  — 


256          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

"  Lo  !  at  noon  'tis  sudden  night ! 
Darkness  covers  all  the  day, 
Rocks  are  rending  at  the  sight : 
Children,  can  you  tell  me  why  ?  ''  &c. 

The  one  he  selected  for  his  sister  was,  — 

"  Behold  the  Saviour  at  thy  door ! 
He  gently  knocks,  has  knock'd  before  ; 
Has  waited  long,  is  waiting  still : 
You  treat  no  other  friend  so  ill,"  &c. 

The  whole  of  this  beautiful  hymn,  I  have  found  since  his 
death,  he  had  copied  into  his  scrap-book.  The  following, 
which  I  also  found  copied  by  him  in  the  same  book,  I  have 
ordered  to  be  inscribed  on  his  tombstone  :  — 

"  Time  was,  is  past,  thou  can'st  not  it  recall ; 
Time  is,  thou  hast,  employ  the  portion  small ; 
Time  future  is  not,  and  may  never  be ; 
Time  present  is  the  only  time  for  thee." 

Perhaps  even  my  own  father  will  feel  that  I  have  already 
said  too  much  respecting  the  child.  But  "  God  maketh  my 
heart  soft."  He  is  come  nigh  to  us.  He  is  visiting  us.  He 
is  speaking  to  us.  He  is  touching  us  where  He  knows  we 
shall  feel  His  hand.  He  is,  so  to  speak,  taking  special  pains 
with  us  for  our  benefit.  And  we  beg  your  prayers  that  we 
may  not  receive  the  grace  of  God  in  vain,  nor  remain  un- 
profited  by  His  paternal  corrections. 

When  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Powers  came  into  my  family  last 
autumn,  I  never  expected  she  would  leave  it,  till  she  should 
be  carried  to  the  house  appointed  for  all  the  living.  And 
the  idea  of  her  coming  to  spend  her  last  hours  with  us  was 
to  me  a  pleasant  thought,  as  I  hoped  it  might  be  a  blessing 
to  the  family.  But  God's  thoughts  are  not  like  ours.  He 
permits  her  to  depart  for  her  native  country,  and  takes  my 
own  child  away  instead  of  her,  as  though  He  would  teach  me 
not  to  expect  to  be  benefited  at  the  expense  of  others,  but  to 
be  willing  to  bear  the  expense  myself. 

When  this  beloved  brother  and  sister  left  us,  a  few  days 
before  Constantirie  was  taken  sick,  I  prayed  that  the  blessed 
Saviour  who,  I  felt  assured,  had  dwelt  with  them  might  not 
leave  the  house,  but  now  come  down  to  our  apartments  and 
take  up  His  abode  with  us.  Little  did  I  think  He  would 
come  in  this  manner.  But  we  would  cherish  His  visits  how 
ever  made,  we  would  welcome  His  presence  though  He  come 


OTHER   DOMESTIC   SCENES.  257 

to  us  in  the  midst  of  darkness  and  storm.  Let  us  but  see 
His  steps,  though  it  be  on  the  highest  billows,  and  let  us  but 
hear  His  voice  saying,  "  It  is  I,  be  not  afraid ; "  though  it 
proceed  from  the  raging  tempest,  we  will  gladly  receive  Him. 
Though  He  slay  us,  yet  will  we  trust  in  Him.  God's  blessed 
word  has  seemed  to  us  like  the  Rock  of  Ages,  on  which  one 
may  stand  unmoved  amidst  the  howlings  of  the  storm,  and 
the  roaring  and  dashing  of  the  billows. 

Mrs.  Goodell  has  been  supported  and  comforted  beyond 
my  expectations ;  but  you,  dear  father,  know  from  your  own 
blessed  experience  that  God  always  keeps  in  perfect  peace 
those  whose  minds  are  stayed  on  Him.  She  is  now  able  to 
sit  up  an  hour  at  a  time,  several  times  in  the  course  of  the 
day.  But  E.,  who  has  had  much  to  do  in  nursing  the  sick, 
has  now  the  same  fever. 

Since  I  commenced  this  letter  I  have  heard  through  the 
"  New  York  Observer  "  of  the  return  of  my  beloved  cousin 
from  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  of  the  decease  of  her  dear 
Lucy.  Assure  her  of  my  love  and  sympathy  and  prayers. 

All  my  family  join  in  love  to  you,  and  in  commending 
ourselves  to  your  prayers. 

Your  ever  affectionate  son, 

WILLIAM. 

Though  in  contrast  with  this  expression  of  parental  sor 
row,  we  turn  to  other  scenes  of  a  domestic  character.  Hav 
ing  in  his  own  family  and  around  him  a  large  circle  of  little 
ones,  Mr.  Goodell  took  the  most  lively  interest  in  all  that 
tended  to  make  them  happy.  His  own  uniformly  cheerful 
and  even  mirthful  disposition  made  him  always  the  welcome 
friend  and  companion  of  children.  He  had  the  happy  faculty 
of  adapting  himself  to  their  years  and  thoughts  and  tastes, 
and  in  their  society  he  was  ready  to  be  regarded  and  treated 
as  if  he  were  the  youngest  of  them  all.  Some  letters  are 
subjoined  showing  the  interest  he  took  in  all  that  related  to 
his  own  children.  The  first  was  written  to  his  aged  father, 
to  whom  the  previous  letter  was  addressed,  and  was  his  own 
way  of  announcing  the  birth  of  a  child  :  — 

MY  DEAR  AND  HONORED  GRANDFATHER, As  I  Was 

not  bom  till  the  12th  inst.,  it  cannot  be  supposed  that  I 

Q 


258          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

should  know  much  of  letter  writing.  But  having  heard 
my  parents  speak  of  giving  you  some  information  of  my 
little  self,  I  thought  it  would  be  better  for  me  to  give  it 
myself,  even  though  my  thoughts  should  be  very  crude, 
and  I  should  have  to  employ  an  amanuensis  to  express  them, 
than  to  leave  it  entirely  to  those  whose  acquaintance  with 
me  has  been  so  short.  And,  besides,  if  what  I  hear  is  true, 
I  have  but  one  grandfather  in  the  world,  and  he  an  old 
man,  perhaps  not  much  farther  from  the  end  of  his  time 
than  I  am  from  the  beginning  of  mine,  and  therefore  I 
should  not  lose  a  moment  in  commencing  a  correspondence 
with  him,  both  for  the  sake  of  giving  him  some  token  of 
the  respect  and  love  I  bear  him  for  all  his  kindness  to  my 
father  and  to  my  paternal  uncles  and  aunts,  and  also  to 
request  that  he  would  give  me  some  of  the  results  of  his 
experience  during  his  long  sojourn  in  this  world. 

You  will  doubtless  expect  that  I  should  express  my 
views  and  feelings  in  regard  to  this  world ;  but  really  I 
have  been  an  inhabitant  of  it  so  short  a  time,  that  perhaps 
the  less  I  say  the  better.  I  may  say  to  you,  however,  in 
confidence,  that  my  first  impressions  were  very  unfavorable ; 
ind  I  felt  so  much  disappointment,  that,  though  it  was 
Sunday,  I  could  not  refrain  from  immediately  lifting  up 
my  voice  and  crying  aloud.  My  friends  did  what  they 
could  to  soothe  my  feelings,  but  I  must  confess  it  was  some 
time  before  I  could  endure  the  horrible  sights  and  sounds 
which  came  rushing  into  my  eyes  and  ears,  like  the  cold  air 
into  my  tender  lungs,  and  which  led  me  at  first  to  suppose 
that  every  object  in  nature  was  intended  to  give,  and  every 
one  of  my  senses  designed  to  convey,  pain  rather  than 
pleasure.  And,  though  a  residence  of  four  days  has  some 
what  modified  my  first  impressions,  and  I  am  becoming  in 
a  manner  reconciled  to  my  situation,  yet  it  seems  impossible 
that  I  should  ever  love  this  cold,  selfish,  vain  world  so 
much  as,  it  is  said,  many  persons  do.  My  parents,  however, 
tell  me  that  those  who  now  have  the  greatest  attachment  to  it 
were  at  the  first  sight  filled  with  as  great  a  horror  as  I  was 
myself,  and  that  therefore  they  entertain  strong  fears  for 
me,  lest  by  and  by  I  should,  like  many  others,  think  of 
nothing,  and  care  for  nothing,  and  love  and  desire  nothing, 
but  this  vain  world.  I  hope  that  their  fears  will  not  be 
realized ;  and  I  am  sure  that  you,  who  know  the  dangers 
that  surround  me  better  than  I  do  myself,  will  offer  tho 


259 

most  fervent  prayers  that  during  my  whole   sojourn   here 
"  I  may  use  the  world  as  not  abusing  it." 

All  my  brothers  and  sisters  seem  very  fond  of  me ;  but 
I  see  plainly  that  they  love  themselves  best,  and  are  willing 
to  give  up  but  little  for  my  comfort ;  and  that  I  shall  in 
general  have  to  yield  my  wishes  to  theirs,  or  have  many 
very  close  rubs  with  them.  They  talk,  indeed,  about  instruct 
ing  me,  setting  before  me  good  examples,  and  so  forth  and 
so  on ;  but  it  is  easy  to  see  that,  however  good  their  inten 
tions  may  be,  —  and  I  hope  I  am  not  disposed  to  be  unchari 
table,  —  they  are  certainly  very  forgetful  of  their  promises 
and  resolutions,  and  need  to  be  reminded  often  of  their  duty ; 
and,  to  tell  the  plain  truth,  I  begin  to  fear  that  I  shall  not 
be  much  benefited  by  any  of  their  efforts  in  my  behalf.  I 
am,  however,  disposed  to  make  every  reasonable  allowance, 
remembering  what  I  must  have  once  heard  or  read,  viz., 
"  that  in  this  world  talking  is  much  easier  and  much  more 
common  than  performing"  I  do  not  know  whether  I  have 
quoted  it  quite  correctly,  as  my  memory  has  not  yet  become 
very  tenacious,  but  I  believe  1  have  expressed  the  idea. 

You  will  be  gratified  to  hear  that,  according  to  the  cus 
toms  of  New  England,  and,  I  suppose,  of  the  United  States 
generally,  I  have  a  bath  every  morning ;  and,  though  I  am 
not  altogether  pleased  with  the  custom,  and  sometimes 
cannot  refrain  from  shedding  tears,  yet  I  consider  it  far 
preferable  to  that  which  prevails  among  the  Armenians  of 
Constantinople.  These,  on  the  birth  of  a  child,  immedi 
ately  scarify  its  arms,  back,  legs,  &c.,  with  a  lancet,  put  on 
salt,  and  swathe  it  close,  and  thus  let  it  remain  for  days,  weeks, 
and  I  do  not  know  but  months,  without  unswathing.  Whether 
they  salt  down  the  child  in  order  to  preserve  it,  or  whether 
the  object  is  to  get  all  the  old  Adam  out  of  its  blood,  I  must 
confess  my  ignorance ;  but,  at  any  rate,  a  daily  purification 
by  water  must,  it  appears  to  me,  be  unspeakably  better. 

I  wish  to  be  properly  remembered  to  all  my  uncles,  aunts, 
and  cousins  in  the  land  of  my  forefathers.  Would  it  were 
in  my  power  to  tell  you  my  name,  but  really  I  am  not  so 
rich  as  to  possess  one ;  and  whether  I  am  to  be  Jemima, 
Keren-happuch,  or  something  else,  I  have  not  the  least 
ilea ;  and  all  my  friends  here  seem  to  be  at  as  great  a  loss 
about  it- as  I  myself.  But  though  my  name  is  not  yet  written 
on  earth,  I  hope  it  is  already  enrolled  in  heaven ;  and  oh, 
may  it  never  be  blotted  from  the  book  of  life  ! 


260          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

And  as  to  yourself,  I  presume  you  will  know  perfectly 
well  who  I  am,  and  for  whom  you  must  pray,  when  I  sub- 
Bcribe  myself 

THE  LITTLE  DAUGHTER  OP  TOUR  SON  W.  G. 

Another  letter  was  written  by  Mr.  Goodell,  as  amanuensis 
for  a  son  just  born,  to  one  of  the  officers  of  the  American 
Board,  whose  name  had  been  given  to  the  child :  — 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  joined  this  mission  on  the  20th  ult., 
and,  though  I  was  not  wholly  unexpected,  yet  I  arrived  at 
so  early  an  hour  in  the  morning  as  to  take  some  of  the  mis 
sionary  circle  by  surprise.  For  the  present  I  board  in  Mr. 
Goodell's  family,  which  seems  to  be  the  case  with  all  new 
missionaries,  till  they  have  learnt  something  of  the  language, 
with  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  people ;  and  this  whether 
they  are  to  remain  permanently  at  Constantinople,  or  whether 
they  are  to  pass  on  after  a  while  to  the  regions  beyond.  I 
make  more  trouble  than  I  could  wish,  and  increase  the  cares 
and  burdens  of  the  family,  instead  of  doing  much  to  lighten 
them.  In  short,  I  for  the  present  require  a  great  deal  of 
attention  from  others,  without  being  able  to  render  any  in 
return.  I  came,  too,  without  any  outfit  whatever.  To  have 
seen  me  on  my  first  arrival,  a  stranger  might  have  concluded 
naturally  enough  that  I  had  suffered  shipwreck,  and  had  not 
a  friend  in  the  world,  so  entirely  destitute  was  my  condition. 
I  lifted  up  my  voice  and  wept  aloud,  and  my  situation  excited 
universal  sympathy.  I  was  received  as  a  beloved  child,  and 
I  have  had  every  possible  kindness  shown  me.  I  assure  you 
nobody  could  have  done  more  for  me  than  Mrs.  Goodell  and 
her  eldest  daughter.  For  a  whole  month  they  devoted  their 
attention  almost  exclusively  to  me ;  they  wiped  away  my 
tears,  anticipated  my  every  want,  and  have  so  comforted  me 
that,  though  I  was  weak  and  helpless  as  an  infant,  I  already 
begin  to  look  up  and  smile.  Indeed,  the  whole  family  are  so 
abundant  in  their  caresses  and  attentions  that  it  will  be  well 
if  I  do  not  become  wholly  selfish,  and  think,  with  the  Princess 
Amelia,  — 

"  That  all  the  world  is  made  for  me." 

True,  I  joined  this  mission  without  any  appointment  from 
the  Board ;  but  I  assure  you  I  should  not  have  done  so  had 
I  not  been  under  a  higher  appointment  than  any  that  could 


ANOTHER  CHILD'S  LETTER.  261 

emanate  from  the  Prudential  Committee.  I  came  not  of 
myself,  and  the  authority  which  sent  me  I  presume  no  one 
will  question.  Certain  it  is  I  have  no  right  to  return,  except 
at  the  bidding  of  the  same  authority ;  nor  is  there  any  power 
on  earth  which  can  lawfully  set  that  authority  aside.  It  is 
also  true  that  living  here  is  very  expensive ;  but,  as  I  came 
unattended,  and  as  I  have  no  thought  at  present  of  seeking 
a  partner,  especially  without  the  advice  of  my  friends,  a 
suitable  maintenance  from  the  funds  of  the  Board  will  doubt 
less  be  allowed  me. 

There  is  one  other  subject  on  which  I  must  touch  before 
I  close,  as  it  perhaps  concerns  you  more  than  any  other  I 
have  mentioned.  I  was  unknown  by  name  to  all  the  mission 
ary  circle.  Without  doubt  I  had  a  name  recorded  where  I 
received  my  appointment,  but  it  was  not  put  in  my  passport. 
I  was,  therefore,  absolutely  nameless,  except  as  I  was  called 
by  a  common  name.  But  it  is  said  that  grammarians  here 
divide  all  names  into  common  and  proper,  and  insist  upon  it 
that  every  individual  who  has  the  former  should  also  be  fur 
nished  with  the  latter.  Being  myself  ignorant  of  the  customs 
and  unacquainted  with  the  grammar,  I  just  let  them  do  as 
they  saw  fit,  though  I  assure  you  it  was  very  amusing  to 
listen  to  all  the  odd  names  they  from  time  to  time  called  over 
me  to  see  how  they  would  sound,  and  which  would  best 
become  me.  Suffice  it  to  say  that,  after  the  younger  mem 
bers  of  the  family  had  looked  through  the  whole  Old  and 
New  Testament,  with  all  history,  ancient  and  modern,  they 
at  last,  without  one  dissenting  voice,  united  with  the  older 

ones  in  giving  me  the  name  of .     This  is  the  name 

by  which  I  am  known  in  this  world ;  it  stands  thus  on  the 
records  of  the  baptized  ones  ;  and  this,  therefore,  must  be  the 
one  which  was  previously  recorded  on  high,  and  which  would 
have  been  inserted  in  the  passport  had  such  an  insertion  been 
customary.  The  motive  of  my  friends  in  calling  me  after 
your  own  name  was  to  secure  your  prayers  for  me  ;  and  that 
such  also  was  the  original  design  in  the  records  of  eternity  is 
so  evident  as  to  justify  you  in  acting  accordingly.  Will  you 
also  sometimes  remember  those  whom  I  am  taught  to  call 
brother  and  sister  in  this  family  ?  We  are  now  seven,  which 
in  Scripture  is  a  perfect  number.  And  may  we  "  be  perfect, 
even  as  our  Father  who  is  in  heaven  is  perfect"  !  Like  the 
seven  lamps  of  the  golden  candlestick,  may  we  be  burning 
continually  before  the  throne  of  God,  with  hallowed  fire  from 
off  the  altar  ! 


262          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

With  my  love  to  all  your  children  and  to  their  excellent 
mother,  in  which  my  best  friends  join,  I  subscribe  myself, 

YOUR    VERY    LITTLE    NAMESAKE. 

His  first  resort  to  artificial  means  to  aid  his  sight  he  men 
tions  in  a  letter  to  his  brother  Temple,  Sept.  11,  1841 :  — 

"  My  sight  begins  to  fail,  and  I  this  day  procured  some 
spectacles.  This  looking  upon  so  many  books  of  different 
languages  so  rapidly  and  so  intensely,  as  is  necessary  in  the 
work  of  translating  the  Scriptures,  is  very  trying  to  the  eyes. 
For  the  year  past  I  have  found  it  difficult  to  read  small  print 
in  the  night;  and  the  difficulty  so  much  increased  that  I 
thought  I  ought  not  to  use  my  eyes  any  longer  in  the  night 
without  the  aid  of  glasses. 

"  But  I  have  no  reason  to  complain.  On  the  contrary,  I 
would  be  unfeignedly  thankful  that  I  have  seen  so  long  and 
so  well.  My  eyes  were  naturally  weak  ;  but,  though  1  have 
always  favored  them,  they  have  served  me  well.  I  must  con 
fess  I  have  also  used  them  in  gazing  upon  objects  upon  which 
they  should  have  been  for  ever  closed.  When  I  can  no 
longer  see  with  them,  not  even  '  through  a  glass  darkly,'  may 
*  the  Lord  be  my  everlasting  light.' " 

About  the  same  time  he  makes  another  characteristic  allu 
sion  to  a  loss  he  had  sustained :  — 

"December  17.  For  the  last  week  have  been  quite  ill,  con 
fined  to  my  couch  most  of  the  time,  from  a  cold  in  my  head, 
teeth,  and  throat.  One  who  has  been  a  grinder  in  my  house 
hold  for  forty-six  or  forty-seven  years,  and  who  has  done  me 
a  great  deal  of  hard  and  important  service,  I  have  had  to 
expel  for  ever.  For  some  time  past  he  has  been  disabled  from 
doing  any  kind  of  service,  and  the  latter  part  of  the  time  he 
gave  me  constant  annoyance  from  his  peevish  habits,  and  had 
begun  also  to  make  disturbance  among  the  other  servants. 
Whether,  at  the  time  of  the  restitution  of  all  things,  he  will 
be  found  in  his  place  again,  I  cannot  say.  Some  of  my  chil 
dren  think  he  will,  and  others  not.  However,  it  does  not 
depend  at  all  on  our  reasonings." 

In  a  letter  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Anderson,  Secretary  of  the 
American  Board,  he  gives  an  encouraging  account  of  the 
prospects  of  the  mission,  —  an  earnest  of  the  great  work  that 


BRIGHTENING   PROSPECTS.  263 

the  Spirit  of  God  afterwards  wrought  in  the  hearts  of  many 
of  the  people. 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  Sept.  17, 1841. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  Last  Sabbath  was  our  communion 
season.  "We  sat  down  at  the  Lord's  table,  being  representa 
tives  not  only  of  the  Church  of  England  and  of  the  Presby 
terian  and  Congregational  and  Methodist  churches  of  Scotland 
and  America,  together  with  the  Lutheran  Church  in  Germany, 
but  also  of  the  three  ancient  Oriental  churches,  viz.,  the 
Armenian,  the  Greek,  and  the  Nestorian.  We  were  gath 
ered  out  of  many  nations  and  kindreds  and  tongues,  and 
raised  up  to  sit  together  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ. 

Yesterday  was  the  monthly  concert  of  prayer,  and,  as 
usual,  one  of  the  services  was  held  expressly  for  our  native 
brethren.  They  always  take  a  lively  interest  in  this  meet 
ing  ;  and,  in  conducting  the  exercises,  Mr.  Dwight  and  myself 
generally  alternate.  The  present  occasion  was  peculiarly 
interesting,  from  the  fact  that  a  bishop,  a  priest,  and  a  deacon 
of  the  Nestorian  Church  were  present,  and  a  large  room  was 
filled  at  an  early  hour.  Five  prayers  were  offered,  one  by 
Mr.  Hamlin,  in  Armenian  ;  one  in  Turkish,  by  my  transla 
tor  ;  one  in  Turkish  and  one  in  Armenian,  by  the  two  pious 
priests  so  often  mentioned  ;  and  the  last  in  Armenian,  by  that 
native  brother  "  whose  praise  is  in  all  the  churches."  And 
could  you  have  been  present,  though  you  would  not  have 
understood  a  word  these  brethren  said,  yet,  from  their  tones 
of  voice  and  serious,  earnest  manner,  you  would  have  felt  at 
once  that  they  had  "  an  unction  from  the  Holy  One,  and 
knew  all  things  ; "  that  they  had  "  received  the  Holy  Ghost, 
as  well  as  we  ; "  and  that  they  had  been  taught  from  above 
to  "  pray  with  the  spirit  and  with  the  understanding  also." 

Mr.  Dwight  continues  his  regular  meetings  twice  a  week. 
These  are  generally  small,  there  seldom  being  more  than 
about  fifteen  present  at  any  one  time  ;  but  then  these  fifteen 
are  only  a  part  of  some  seventy  or  seventy-five  persons,  who 
come  as  often  as  circumstances  will  permit.  You  will  recol 
lect  that  they  come  a  distance  of  from  two  to  three,  five,  and 
even  ten  miles  ;  that  they  come  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  and 
in  the  very  midst  of  business  hours  ;  and  that,  belonging  as 
they  mostly  do  to  the  various  trades,  and  being  men  of  thrift, 
they  have  to  shut  up  their  shops  in  the  midst  of  all  the 
worldly  around  them,  when  they  come  to  hear  the  Gospel. 


264          FORTY   YEARS   IN    THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

They  pay  their  own  boat-hire  for  the  sweet  privilege  of  hear 
ing  the  Gospel.  By  coming  to  us  they  have  nothing  to  get 
but  the  Gospel.  They  hope  for  nothing  else.  They  do  not 
even  look  to  us  for  protection,  or  for  any  other  earthly  favor. 
Excepting  four  or  five,  they  have  no  temporal  connection 
with  us  whatever,  but  are  altogether  independent  of  us. 
They  are  all  men,  the  customs  of  society  not  permitting 
them  to  bring  their  families  with  them.  They  belong  gen 
erally  to  the  middling  class,  —  that  class  now  rapidly  rising 
in  importance,  becoming  the  nation  itself,  and  taking  hold  of 
the  management  of  its  affairs  with  a  giant-like  grasp. 

Those  who  attend  these  meetings  are  not  the  idle,  or  the 
dissipated  hangers-on,  or  busybodies  in  other  men's  matters. 
Not  one  is  known  to  go  away  to  mock,  or  to  dispute,  or  to 
plunge  into  the  follies  or  cares  of  this  life.  On  the  contrary, 
it  is  confidently  believed  that,  in  almost  every  case,  they 
retire  to  pray,  to  commune  with  their  own  hearts,  to  bless 
God  for  the  glad  tidings  of  the  Gospel,  and  to  resolve  in  the 
strength  of  the  Lord  to  lead  a  life  of  faith,  of  deadness  to 
the  world,  and  of  preparation  for  eternity.  If  they  are  not 
all  of  them  "  spiritually  minded,  which  is  life  and  peace," 
they  are  at  least  "  sober  minded."  As  a  general  thing,  we 
may  say  of  them  that  they  are  either  already  "in  Christ 
Jesus,  and  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit,"  or 
they  are  of  that  class  of  persons  usually  found  at  the  seat  of 
the  inquirer  in  the  revival  scenes  of  America. 

Nor  is  the  work  confined  to  these  seventy  or  seventy-five, 
of  whom  we  have  been  speaking,  but  there  are  others  of 
both  sexes  in  the  same  state  of  mind,  —  persons  of  like  char 
acter  and  spirit,  but  whose  circumstances  or  the  customs  of 
society  forbid  their  attending  the  meetings.  These  are  more 
particularly  looked  up  and  looked  after  from  day  to  day  by 
our  native  helpers.  To  say  nothing,  then,  of  the  interesting 
state  of  things  in  the  interior,  there  are  perhaps  not  less  than 
a  hundred  persons  in  the  very  neighborhood  of  the  capital 
who  are  serious  inquirers,  and  to  a  goodly  number  of  whom, 
should  they  be  present  at  our  communion  seasons,  and  ask 
for  the  privilege  of  partaking  with  us,  we  should  not  hesitate 
to  say,  in  the  name  of  Him  who  spreads  the  table,  "  Eat.  O 
friends ;  drink,  yea,  drink  abundantly,  0  beloved."  Per 
haps  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  anywhere  a  body  of  Chris 
tians  who  understand  better  than  these  that  it  is  "  not  by 
works  of  righteousness  which  we  have  done,  but  according 


WORK   EXTENDING.  265 

to  His  mercy,  He  saves  us,  by  the  washing  of  regeneration 
and  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

I  say  nothing  here  of  the  great  increase  of  enlightened 
Armenians,  who  may  now,  I  suppose,  be  computed  at  some 
thousands.  But,  in  the  character  of  the  work  described 
above,  is  there  not  something  very  peculiar  and  striking, 
calling  for  special  thanksgiving  to  God  ?  It  is  not  confined 
to  children  in  school,  who  are  out  of  the  way  of  temptation 
and  out  of  the  wa^  -  ?  present  usefulness,  and  of  whose  future 
exposures  and  apostasies  there  is  just  cause  for  apprehension. 
But  the  subjects  of  this  work  are  men  of  present  standing  in 
society,  already  stemming  the  entire  force  of  this  world's 
dreadful  current;  already  placed  in  their  respective  neigh 
borhoods  as  so  many  distinct  lights  that  burn  and  shine ; 
already,  like  the  angels  to  the  wandering  shepherds,  report 
ing  to  their  neighbors  and  friends  the  glad  tidings  of  a  great 
salvation  for  all  people. 

Nor  is  the  work  confined  to  those  who  are  in  our  employ, 
or  who  are  expecting  some  temporal  advantage  from  us,  and 
are  thus  willing  to  hear  something  about  Christ  for  the  sake 
of  the  loaves  and  fishes.  But,  on  the  contrary,  as  I  have 
already  said,  it  is  almost  exclusively  confined  to  those  who 
expect  nothing  but  the  Gospel,  with  persecution ;  who  are 
known  to  us  in  no  other  way  than  as  those  who  are  ready 
to  count  all  things  but  dross  for  the  excellency  of  the  knowl 
edge  of  Christ ;  who  always  have  to  give,  instead  of  receiv 
ing,  not  being  able  to  come  even  once  to  us  without  making 
a  sacrifice  of  time  and  money. 

You  would  naturally  suppose  that  the  meetings  on  the  Sab 
bath  would  be  the  best  attended ;  but  just  the  reverse  is  tho 
case.  The  reason  is  that  our  hearers  have  nearly  all  of  them 
turned  preachers  on  that  day.  As  it  is  a  day  of  leisure  with 
their  friends  and  acquaintances,  they  improve  the  opportu 
nity  for  making  them  acquainted  with  the  Gospel ;  and  in 
this  work  of  faith  and  labor  of  love  they  have  the  divine 
blessing.  Yours, 

W.   GOODELL, 


12 


266          FORTY   YEARS   IN    THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

ON  the  6th  of  November,  1841,  Mr.  Goodell  completed 
the  translation  of  the  Old  Testament  into  Armeno- 
Turkish,  having  finished  the  New  Testament  before  coming 
to  Constantinople.  This  may  be  regarded  as  the  great  work 
of  his  life,  especially  as  he  devoted  many  subsequent  years 
to  its  careful  revision  and  perfection.  This  translation  has 
been,  and  will  long  continue  to  be,  the  lamp  of  life  to  the 
millions  of  the  Armenian  nation.  On  the  day  that  he  com 
pleted  this  labor,  he  wrote  to  the  Rev.  S.  H.  Calhoun,  then 
in  the  Levant,  as  the  agent  of  the  American  Bible  Society, 
under  auspices  of  which  this  translation  was  given  to  the 
people  of  the  East :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  Nov.  6,  1841. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  Through  the  kindness  and  bless 
ing  of  God,  the  translation  of  the  Old  Testament  into  Arineno- 
Turkish  is  at  length  completed.  This  I  had  hardly  the  least 
idea  of  living  long  enough  to  see,  when  I  commenced  the 
work  ;  but  the  divine  forbearance  towards  me  has  been  great. 
I  came  in  course  this  morning  to  the  last  verse  of  the  last 
chapter  of  the  last  book,  which  I  corrected  "  with  shoutings, 
grace,  grace  unto  it."  At  the  bottom  of  the  page  I  wrote, 
"  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  and  forget  not  all  His  benefits." 
I  then  arose  and  shut  up  all  the  books  that  have  been  lying 
open  before  me  these  many  years,  and  fell  on  my  knees  to 
give  thanks  unto  the  name  of  the  Lord,  who  "  hath  not  dealt 
with  us  after  our  sins,"  who  hath  given  us  His  blessed  "  word 
to  be  a  lamp  unto  our  feet,"  and  whose  wondrous  love  per 
mits  us  to  hold  it  up  to  "lighten  every  man  that  cometh 
into  the  world."  Oh,  may  the  nations  "no  longer  have  to 
walk  on  in  darkness,"  but  may  they  all  be  speedily  furnished 
"  with  the  light  of  life  " ! 


TRANSLATION   COMPLETED.  267 

The  preparation  of  this  work  has  been  a  great  and  difficult 
one ;  and  it  has  employed  nearly  all  my  strength  and  time 
for  several  years.  After  I  came  to  Constantinople,  I  tried 
my  utmost  to  carry  it  forward  at  the  same  time  with  other 
missionary  and  more  active  labors  ;  but  I  found  that  I  ac 
complished  next  to  nothing  in  it.  It  was  necessary  that  my 
room  should  be  a  study,  and  not  a  church ;  that  my  mind, 
instead  of  being  distracted  and  disturbed,  should  be  composed, 
like  that  of  the  prophet  Elisha,  and  like  that  of  the  other 
inspired  writers,  whose  words  I  was  endeavoring  to  translate  ; 
and  that  my  attention  should  be  strictly  devoted  to  this,  and 
to  nothing  else.  It  is  not  like  giving  the  Scriptures  to  the 
destitute  heathen,  where  haste  is  required  rather  than  ex 
treme  accuracy,  and  where,  the  idiom  not  being  supposed  to 
be  perfectly  understood,  a  more  critical  examination  of  diffi 
cult  passages  may  be  reserved  for  a  future  edition,  when 
the  language  itself  may  have  to  be  revised  and  made  more 
idiomatical.  Nor  is  it  like  giving  the  Scriptures  to  the  igno 
rant  and  unenlightened,  who  will  never  of  themselves  find 
out  any  of  those  mistakes  and  defects  which  the  translator 
can  himself  correct  in  some  future  edition,  when  more  time 
may  be  devoted  to  the  work,  more  experience  acquired  in  it, 
and  better  helps  obtained  for  it.  But  it  is  preparing  the 
Scriptures  for  those  who  are  comparatively  enlightened; 
who  as  a  nation  have  access  to  them  in  at  least  two  languages 
already,  though  neither  of  them  generally  understood,  and 
the  learned  and  influential  of  whom  have  in  many  cases 
become  great  pedants  in  criticism,  and  captious  beyond  en 
durance, —  being  much  more  inclined  to  compare  for  the 
sake  of  finding  discrepancies  than  to  read  with  a  prayerful 
desire  to  understand  the  meaning,  and  be  guided  into  all 
truth. 

But  as  nearly  all  can  read  the  Armeno-Turkish,  and  very 
many  thousands  among  them  can  read  nothing  else,  the  trans 
lation  of  the  Bible  into  this  language  is  imperiously  demanded. 
It  was  strongly  urged  upon  me  eighteen  years  ago  by  the 
Rev.  Pliny  Fisk,  one  of  the  first  missionaries  of  the  Board  to 
Palestine.  I  have  had  my  eye  upon  it  ever  since ;  Providence 
has  furnished  me  with  the  means  by  raising  up  instruments, 
and  I  have  spared  no  pains  or  labor  to  have  it  as  perfect  as 
possible,  otherwise  I  might  have  completed  it  long  ago.  In 
some  instances  I  have  spent  more  time  on  the  examination 
of  a  single  passage  than  I  should  have  felt  justified  in  em- 


268  FORTY   YEARS  IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

ploying  on  a  whole  chapter,  had  I  been  throwing  it  out  upon 
a  starving  population,  who  had  never  yet  tasted  this  Bread 
of  Heaven.  It  is  not  a  version,  or  a  revision  of  a  former 
translation,  for  no  such  ever  existed.  The  whole  has  been 
taken  fresh  from  the  Hebrew.  And  may  it  in  some  humble 
way  prove  to  be  like  the  "  pure  river  of  the  water  of  life, 
clear  as  crystal,  proceeding  out  of  the  throne  of  God  and 
of  the  Lamb."  May  hundreds  of  thousands  of  the  perish 
ing  come  and  recline  on  its  banks,  and  drink,  and  live  for 
ever! 

One  adventitious  advantage  which  may  be  hoped  from 
this  translation  is,  that  it  will  render  it  less  difficult  at  some 
future  time  to  bring  back  their  ancient  Armenian  Scriptures 
to  the  original  Hebrew,  from  which  they  have  more  or  less 
widely  departed.  It  is  preparing  the  way  for  this,  inasmuch 
as  it  makes  them  familiar  with  a  translation  professedly  of 
this  character. 

To  me  this  work  has  been,  next  to  preaching  the  Gospel, 
the  most  delightful  employment.  The  land  through  which  I 
have  passed  has  not  been  a  wilderness  to  me,  —  a  land  of 
drought  and  barrenness,  but  it  has  been  a  country  of  fertile 
vales,  and  hills  of  the  richest  mines,  abounding  with  such 
beautiful  prospects  and  refreshing  shade  and  cooling  foun 
tains,  that  I  have  often  stopped  to  enjoy  the  •scenery,  to 
listen  to  the  sweet  songsters  of  the  grove,  to  "  drink  of  the 
brook  in  the  way,"  and  thus  to  "go  on  from  strength  to 
strength."  My  feelings  have  gone  along  with  those  of  the 
sacred  writers  to  such  a  degree,  that  often  when  alone,  in  my 
study  I  have  been  reading  a  page  perhaps  for  the  seventh  time, 
I  have  had  to  stop  in  order  to  wipe  away  the  fast  flowing  tears, 
or  to  offer  up  such  prayers  and  praises,  as  the  subject  called 
forth.  And  then,  only  think  of  such  a  song  as  that  of  Debo 
rah's  !  Having  in  such  perfection  all  the  softness  and  delicacy 
and  minute  detail  and  lively  description  of  female  composition ! 
Who  could  translate  it  without  feeling  his  very  heart  dance 
within  him  !  I  could  almost  wish  that  all  the  Lord's  people 
were  translators,  as  Moses  wished  them  all  prophets,  in  order 
that  they  might  see  with  their  own  eyes  the  very  words  and 
the  very  manner,  often  inimitable  in  translating,  in  which 
the  great  God  expressed  His  thoughts  to  man,  and  might 
thus  enter  more  readily  into  all  the  scenes  and  circumstances 
and  feelings  of  those  "  holy  men  of  God,  who  spake  as  they 
were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost."  God's  word  is,  indeed,  a 


HELPS   IN   TRANSLATING.  269 

great  deep ;  who  can  fathom  it  ?  It  is  divinely  beautiful ; 
who  that  once  looks  upon  it  can  help  gazing  for  ever  with 
ever  increasing  delight?  It  is  fraught  with  the  riches  of 
eternity ;  who  shall  not  prize  it  "  above  gold,  yea,  above  fine 
gold  "  ? 

My  helps  have  been  Robinson's  Gesenius  and  Simoni's 
Lexicon,  Michaelis'  Hebrew  Bible,  with  critical  notes  in  the 
margin,  Rosenmiiller's  Scholia,  Barnes's  Notes  on  Isaiah, 
Keiifer's  Turkish  Bible,  Leeves's  Greco-Turkish,  and  the 
Septuagint,  with  the  English. 

My  translator,  who,  as  you  know,  is  a  pious  Greek,  and  a 
fine  scholar  in  Greek  and  Turkish,  to  which,  through  our 
instructions,  may  also  be  added  English  and  Hebrew,  had  for 
helps  Robinson's  Gesenius,  Leeves's  Modern  Greek  and 
Greco-Turkish  Bibles,  Keiifer's  Turkish,  the  English,  and 
the  Septuagint. 

On  certain  passages  we  have  both  of  us  consulted  various 
Hebrew  scholars ;  and  I  trust  we  have  both  of  us  availed 
ourselves  of  the  privilege  of  asking  the  assistance  of  that  same 
blessed  Spirit,  through  whose  inspiration  the  Scriptures  were 
at  first  indited. 

Dionysius,  the  Armenian  bishop,  formerly  in  my  employ, 
first  translated  the  work  with  the  help  of  the  Arabic  and 
Ancient  Armenian  Bibles,  together  with  Keiffer.  Nearly  or 
quite  half  of  this  translation  was  burnt  at  the  time  of  the 
great  fire  here  ten  years  ago  ;  and  the  bishop  had  to  translate 
it  again.  My  present  translator,  Mr.  Panayotes  Constan- 
tinides,  had  the  advantage  of  this  translation,  and  made  his 
first  corrections  upon  it,  or  at  least  upon  a  part  of  it,  and 
then  rewrote  the  whole.  He  always  translated  directly 
from  the  Hebrew,  with  the  helps  above  mentioned. 

This  translation,  as  small  portions  of  it  were  from  time  to 
time  completed,  I  took  and  examined  every  word  with  the 
Hebrew,  in  the  most  careful  and  conscientious  manner.  And 
I  herewith  send  you  some  of  the  notes  I  made,  by  which  you 
will  see  that  I  had  various  inquiries  to  make,  or  various 
alterations  to  propose,  in  regard  to  almost  every  verse.  To 
the  examination  of  these  we  sat  down  together,  and  devoted 
on  an  average  a  day,  or  a  day  and  a  half,  in  a  week.  It  is, 
however,  but  justice  to  him  to  say  that  wo  sometimes  con 
cluded  to  let  the  text  remain  as  he  left  it,  without  adopting 
the  changes  I  had  proposed.  These  papers  are  marked  No. 
1.  Some  of  them  are  of  course  destroyed;  for  I  had  no 


270          FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

thought  of  preserving  them  longer  than  I  had  use  for  them 
myself. 

These  portions  of  the  translation  would  now  be  laid  aside 
till  near  the  time  when  they  would  be  wanted  for  the  press 
at  Smyrna,  —  sometimes  a  year,  and  generally  several  months. 
When  called  for  at  Smyrna,  Mr.  Panayotes  would  take  arid 
read  them  over  carefully,  to  notice  any  error  in  orthography 
or  grammar  or  punctuation,  or  any  thing  that  appeared  not 
idiomatic  in  the  language ;  and  No.  2  are  some  of  the  papers, 
showing  the  changes  he  made.  These  papers  and  the  manu 
script  were  then  given  to  me,  and  I  read  it  over  for  the  same 
purpose;  and  you  have  the  result  in  No.  3,  which  we  of 
course  again  examined  together.  Very  few,  however,  of 
Nos.  2  and  3  remain,  as  I  had  no  motive  in  preserving  them. 

In  translating  the  New  Testament  into  this  language  sev 
eral  years  ago,  I  had  the  help  of  Bishop  Dionysius.  It  was 
new  work  for  us  both ;  and,  when  he  began  to  learn  from  me 
the  peculiar  shape  of  the  Greek,  he  began  to  try  to  conform 
his  Turkish  to  the  Greek  idiom,  as  he  said  the  Ancient  Ar 
menian  was  thus  conformed ;  and,  being  absent  as  he  was 
from  the  people  who  would  read  the  work,  this  error  increased 
upon  him  from  day  to  day.  My  present  translator  has  been 
more  exposed  to  the  same  error,  than  to  any  other,  as  I  pre 
sume  every  young  and  conscientious  translator  of  the  Bible 
would  be.  But  I  have  had  a  special  eye  upon  it,  and  have 
kept  asking,  "  Is  this  Turkish  ?  Is  it  Turkish  or  Hebrew  ?  " 
Moreover,  we  are  now  among  the  people  for  whom  the  work 
is  intended,  and  some  parts  of  it  have  been  put  into  the  hands 
of  various  individuals  of  different  standing  in  society,  to  ascer 
tain  whether  the  style  would  be  comprehended.  Some  parts, 
also,  have  been  read  by  the  best  masters  here,  and  a  due"  re 
gard  paid  to  their  criticisms.  I  say  a  due  regard,  for  the 
style  of  the  best  masters  would  in  general  be  above  the  com 
prehension  of  the  common  people.  Of  the  general  accepta- 
bleness  in  this  respect  of  those  portions  of  the  work  which 
have  been  put  in  circulation  among  the  people  I  need  not 
now  speak,  as  some  of  the  facts  have  already  been  commu 
nicated  to  the  Bible  Society. 

The  printing  was  done  at  Smyrna,  and  with  neatness  and 
despatch,  and  the  proofs  were  read  there.  But  in  every 
instance  the  last  proof  was  sent  to  me,  that  I  might  see 
whether  it  were  entirely  conformed  to  the  manuscript.  This 
I  have  had  for  the  most  part  to  do  alone,  as  my  translator 


PRAYER   FOR  A   BLESSING.  271 

was  much  of  the  time  in  Greece  for  safety.  When  he  was 
here,  he  examined  the  proof  first,  and  I  afterwards,  but  in  no 
instance,  even  after  he  had  read  the  proof,  have  I  found  one 
entirely  correct.  Accuracy  is  not  in  him,  nor  indeed  in  any 
other  native  I  have  found,  except  Bishop  Dionysius.  He 
was'  remarkably  accurate,  arid  his  services  would  have  been 
to  me  invaluable  in  this  respect,  and  would  have  saved  me 
many,  many  months  of  hard  labor ;  but  it  was  not  safe  to 
bring  him  from  Beyrout.  A  great  deal  of  my  time  has  all 
along  been  devoted  to  those  niceties  of  the  language,  which 
it  is  the  province  of  a  native  to  attend  to,  and  not  of  a  for 
eigner.  I  have  done  the  best  I  could ;  but,  with  all  my  atten 
tion  to  the  subject,  minor  errors  have  doubtless  crept  in 
through  inadvertence.  Nor,  to  speak  of  the  work  in  general, 
is  it  to  be  supposed  that  the  meaning  has  in  every  instance 
been  truly  apprehended  by  us,  or  that  the  words  used  have 
in  all  cases  been  the  most  judiciously  chosen  to  express  what 
may  have  been  rightly  understood.  All  these  things  are  but 
approximations  towards  what  is  required.  We  do  what  we 
can,  and  leave  it  for  those  who  come  after  us  to  do  better. 

I  would  still  suggest,  however,  though  the  suggestion  might 
come  with  more  grace  from  another,  that  translations  which 
have  once  obtained,  and  which  are  not  radically  defective, 
had,  like  our  own  English  Bible,  better  remain  altogether 
untouched,  than  be  too  often  meddled  with,  or  be  made  to 
undergo  more  than  partial  changes.  The  history  of  transla 
tions  in  India  is  full  of  instruction  on  this  subject. 

And  now  may  the  blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant  be 
sprinkled  upon  the  book,  upon  those  who  have  had  any 
thing  to  do  in  preparing  it,  and  upon  all  who  shall  read  it ! 
May  it  be  made  use  of  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  softening  and 
sanctifying  the  hearts  of  men,  and  in  bringing  many  sons  and 
daughters  unto  glory !  Already  is  God  pouring  out  His 
Spirit  upon  this  people,  and  your  society  is  at  the  same  time 
sending  among  them  the  very  "  words  which  the  Holy  Ghost 
teacheth."  What  a  wonderful  coincidence  !  what  an  encour 
aging  fact !  Let  it  excite  our  gratitude,  and  awaken  us  to 
more  prayer  and  faith.  Tell  your  society  that  the  blessings 
of  many  ready  to  perish  will  come  upon  them.  Tell  them 
"  not  to  be  weary  in  well-doing ;  for  in  due  season  they  shall 
reap,  if  they  faint  not."  Tell  them  not  to  wait  for  a  vote  of 
thanks,  or  for  a  formal  expression  of  obligation  and  lasting 
gratitude,  from  this  great  community,  —  these  hundreds  of 


272          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

thousands  the  objects  of  their  bounty  ;  but  in  this  respect  to 
be  "  perfect,  even  as  their  Father  in  heaven  is  perfect,  who 
sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust." 

With  Christian  and  affectionate  salutations  to  yourself, 
and  through  you  to  them,  I  remain 

Your  brother  in  the  faith  and  work  of  the  Lord, 

W.,GOODELL. 

A  few  days  later  he  wrote  to  his  first  preceptor,  John 
Adams,  LL.D.  of  Phillips  Academy,  for  whom  he  ever 
cherished  the  warmest  affection  and  the  most  profound  re 
spect  :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  Nov.  19,  1841. 

MY  VERY  DEAR  PRECEPTOR,  —  Very  kind,  indeed,  it  was 
in  you  to  remember  me  among  so  many  hundreds  of  your 
disciples.  I  say  disciples  ;  for  verily  I  believe  we  learned  not 
only  under  you,  but  of  you.  The  impressions  I  received  at 
Phillips  Academy  were  more  vivid  and  more  deep  and  last 
ing  than  those  1  received  at  college  or  at  the  Theological 
Seminary.  And  I  feel  that  I  have  more  of  your  character 
impressed  on  my  own  than  of  any  other  teacher.  Perhaps 
one  reason  was,  that  I  had  just  come  out  of  the  woods,  and 
every  thing  was  new  to  me.  I  was  living  in  a  new  world. 
Thus  new  and  wonderful  does  it  often  appear  to  a  person 
when  he  is  first  translated  from  the  kingdom  of  darkness 
into  the  kingdom  of  God's  dear  Son. 

It  is  nineteen  years  to-day  since  we  were  married,  and  in 
a  few  days  it  will  be  nineteen  years  since  we  sailed  from 
New  York  for  the  East.  More  than  half  a  generation  has, 
during  this  time,  gone  to  the  other  world.  More  than  four 
hundred  millions  have  done  with  time  and  probation,  and 
have  commenced  their  eternity.  To  my  own  family  God  has 
in  His  great  mercy  to  the  unworthy  given  an  unusual  degree 
of  health  and  domestic  comfort.  To  many  daughters  and 
sons  do  we  sustain  the  relation  of  parents.  But  all  are  not 
now  under  our  poor  guidance  and  direction,  for  one,  a  beloved 
and  promising  boy  of  nine  years  and  a  half,  ceased  to  be  the 
object  of  our  prayers,  but  not  of  our  love,  the  8th  of  April 
last,  when  "  he  was  not,  for  God  took  him." 

I  have  within  a  few  days  completed  the  translation  of  the 
Old  Testament  into  Armeno-Turkish.  The  New  Testament 
I  had  finished  before.  I  have  thus  opened  fountains  of  liv- 


CHANGES    OF    FIFTY   YEARS.  273 

ing  waters  here  in  the  desert,  and  for  the  perishing  people, 
or,  as  Mr.  Temple  says,  "  set  wide  open  to  them  all  the 
twelve  gates  of  the  New  Jerusalem.'*  This  good  brother, 
as  you  know,  is  stationed  at  Smyrna,  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  from  the  capital.  We  correspond  every  week 
with  great  regularity,  and  as  he  becomes  more  cheerful  in 
his  old  age  and  I  more  sober,  we  are  of  course  getting  to  be 
somewhat  more  alike  than  when  we  occupied  the  same  room 
and  slept  in  the  same  bed  for  seven  years  at  college  and  the 
Theological  Seminary.  Were  we  not  indebted  to  your  own 
barn  for  the  straw  ?  yea,  and  for  the  mouse  withal,  which  we 
happened  on  one  occasion  to  put  into  the  bed  with  the  straw, 
to  our  great  annoyance  the  following  night,  when  we  had  to 
throw  off  the  bed,  not  knowing  what  in  the  world  was  the 
matter  with  it. 

With  the  history  of  your  own  beloved  family  I  am  not 
unacquainted,  having  been  informed  from  time  to  time  of 
all  the  principal  incidents,  whether  they  respected  yourself 
or  your  dear  children.  To  all  who  are  on  this  side  heaven 
I  send  my  Christian  and  most  affectionate  salutations,  from 
Mary  the  eldest,  down  to  Phebe  the  youngest.  When  I 
heard  that  dear  Elizabeth  had  met  with  a  watery  grave,  I 
felt  that  one  of  my  most  precious  friends  was  in  heaven.  If 
there  were  no  blessed  Saviour,  who  would  take  care  of  our 
friends  in  the  other  world  ? 

Mrs.  Goodell  unites  in  kind  and  Christian  regards  to  your 
self,  to  Mrs.  Adams,  to  Betsy  Cleveland,  and  all,  and,  com 
mending  myself  and  family  to  your  prayers,  I  remain 

Your  much  obliged  and  very  grateful  quondam  pupil, 

W.  GOODELL. 

On  the  completion  of  his  fiftieth  year  he  wrote  to  hii 
brother  Nathan :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  Feb.  14,  1842. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  This  day  completes  half  a  century 
of  my  life.  Some  of  my  friends  have  remarked  that  the 
changes  that  have  taken  place  in  the  world  during  these  fifty 
years  are  greater  than  during  almost  any  other  equal  period 
of  time.  And  is  it  not  so  ?  God  has  certainly  been  doing 
great  and  wonderful  things  in  the  earth,  both  by  His  provi 
dence  and  by  His  Spirit. 

12*  R 


274          FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

Did  you  ever  take  particular  notice  of  God's  first  command 
to  our  race,  — "  Replenish  the  earth  and  subdue  it  ?  "  Now, 
instead  of  subduing  the  earth,  and  turning  the  very  elements 
to  the  greatest  and  best  account,  by  ascertaining  the  num 
berless  uses  to  which  they  could  be  applied,  our  whole  race, 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world,  have  been  subduing  one 
another.  All  their  strength,  all  their  ingenuity,  all  their 
resources,  have  been  employed  for  the  destruction  of  each 
other.  The  history  of  the  world  is  only  one  black  disclosure 
of  the  designs  formed,  the  means  used,  and  the  projects  exe 
cuted  or  attempted,  to  subdue  one  another.  The  historian 
finds  hardly  any  thing  else  to  mention.  This  has  been  the 
great  vortex  which  has  swallowed  up  all  the  wealth  and  the 
strength  and  the  thoughts  of  nations  from  generation  to  gen 
eration. 

But  within  the  last  fifty  years  the  minds  of  a  few  persons 
in  a  few  countries  have  been  turned  to  the  subject  of  subdu 
ing  the  earth,  and  ascertaining  what  they  could  make  out  of 
it.  The  experiments  have  been  numerous,  splendid,  arid  the 
results  astounding.  The  very  ends  of  the  world  are  now 
brought  together,  and  the  moral  effect  of  this  among  the 
nations  is,  that  men  begin  to  feel  that  they  belong  to  one 
brotherhood.  What,  then,  may  we  expect  when  all  minds  in 
all  countries  shall  be  waked  up  to  this  great  subject,  and  the 
ingenuity  of  man  be  turned  into  this  new  and  beautiful 
channel,  as  our  benevolent  Creator  at  first  commanded ! 
What  improvements  may  we  not  confidently  expect  in  the 
next  fifty  years  !  Long  before  the  expiration  of  that  period 
we  may  have  done  with  steam,  have  found  something  much 
more  useful.  Who  can  tell  what  we  shall  yet  make  out  of 
the  earth,  as  we  come  truly  to  the  task  of  subduing  it. 
Who  can  tell  but  we  may  yet  tame  the  volcano,  or  hitch  on 
to  the  lightning,  or  ride  above  the  clouds !  Who  can  tV.l 
but  we  may  yet  turn  icebergs  and  earthquakes  to  some  pub 
lic  benefit ! 

When  our  race  departed  from  God,  and  we  were  cut  off  in 
a  great  measure  from  intercourse  with  one  another,  perhaps 
we  were  then  cut  off  from  all  the  intercourse  we  may  have 
heretofore  enjoyed  with  the  inhabitants  of  other  worlds,  and 
confined  to  our  own  narrow  limits,  that  we  might  not  corrupt 
others  by  our  example  ;  but  as  missionaries  are  sent  forth, 
and  the  nations  return  to  God  and  to  duty,  who  can  tell  but 
we  may  yet  be  permitted  to  find  the  means  of  holding  inter- 


LETTER   OF    INTRODUCTION.  275 

course  with  our  neighbors  in  other  planets,  or  our  fellow- 
beings  in  the  stars.  But  you  will  probably  prefer  to  let 
your  neighbors  go,  till  you  hear  something  of  your  own  rela 
tives  at  Constantinople. 

Dear  brother,  let  us  live  for  eternity,  for  time  will  soon  be 
no  more.  Let  us  pray  for  each  other,  and  for  each  other's 
families.  Your  brother, 

WILLIAM. 

He  writes  in  his  journal :  — 

"  February  18,  1842.  On  account  of  the  encroachments 
of  the  Turks  on  the  Frank  burying-ground,  I  had  to  remove 
the  body  of  our  beloved  boy.  The  grave,  contrary  to  the 
custom  of  the  country,  had  been  dug  deep,  arid  the  coffin  was 
scarcely  damp.  Every  thing  was  sweet  and  still.  The  new 
grave  which  we  have  prepared  a  few  rods  distant  was  also 
deep  and  dry ;  and  there  we  laid  the  body,  to  rest  in  its  quiet 
bed  till  the  resurrection  morning.  Beloved  child,  farewell ! " 

Mr.  Goodell  was  original  in  almost  every  thing  that  he 
did  or  sa'.d  or  wrote.  The  following  letter  of  introduction 
is  characteristic.  It  was  superscribed  :  — 

"  To  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Temple,  Adger,  Riggs,  Van  Lennep, 
and  Calhoun,  Smyrna,  introducing  one  of  those  that  resem 
ble  the  children  of  a  king  : "  — 

PERA,  March  5,  1842. 

DEAR  BRETHREN,  —  I  have  much  pleasure  in  introducing 
to  you  and  to  your  good  families  Mr.  Marshall,  a  fellow- 
countryman  of  ours,  "  a  fellow-citizen  of  the  saints,"  one  of 
the  royal  family,  born  to  a  great  estate,  even  "an  incor 
ruptible  inheritance,"  and  possessing,  also,  no  inconsiderable 
portion  of  comfort  and  convenience,  on  his  way  to  the  "  bet 
ter  country."  Having  said  thus  much,  I  need  not  say  more 
to  bespeak  your  attentions  and  civilities  to  one  of  such  high 
and  noble  extraction,  and  of  such  boundless  prospects  for 
eternity. 

And  with  Christian  salutations  I  venture  to  subscribe  my 
self,  by  the  grace  of  God, 

A  fellow-heir, 

W.  GOODELL. 

P.  S.  —  Brother  Temple  will  remember  our  old  classmate 


276  FORTY    YEARS    IN    THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

Alva  Woods,  since  made  President  and  D.D.,  —  he  married 
a  sister  of  Mr.  Marshall. 

The  extracts  from  his  journal  are  here  continued :  — 

"  April  27,  1842.  An  Armenian  youth  came  to  me  for 
money,  which  was  due  to  his  family ;  and  I,  as  usual,  gave 
him  an  order  on  our  banker,  an  English  merchant  in  Galata. 
He  took  the  paper  and  looked  at  it  a  moment,  and  said 
doubtingly,  '  But  he  does  not  know  me.'  '  No  matter,'  I 
replied,  '  he  knows  me ;  and  whatever  you  ask  in  my  name 
he  will  give  it  you.  If  you  go  to  him  in  your  own  name, 
you  will  of  course  get  nothing ;  but  my  name  has  so  much 
influence  with  him,  that  whatever  I  endorse  for  you  will 
assuredly  be  honored.  If  I  give  you  my  name  to  carry  to  him, 
he  will,  without  asking  whether  you  are  a  prince  or  a  beggar, 
give  you  just  as  much  as  he  would  give  me,  should  I  go  in 
person  and  ask  for  myself.'  He  understood  at  once  to  what 
I  alluded,  and  appeared  much  struck  with  it. 

"  Saw  a  Circassian  offering  his  little  boy  for  sale,  and  two 
Turkish  women,  whom  he  met  in  the  street,  treating  with 
him  about  the  price.  He  seemed  not  to  have  one  thought 
about  the  poor  boy,  —  into  whose  hands  he  might  fall,  or 
what  his  fate  might  be  for  time  or  eternity,  but  to  be  intent 
only  on  getting  as  much  money  by  the  sale  as  possible. 
'  Without  natural  affection?  Oh,  how  little  do  those  baptized 
children  in  America,  who  refuse  to  submit  to  the  government 
of  Christ,  think  of  the  temporal  blessings  and  privileges  they 
enjoy,  by  being  made  to  live  even  near  the  borders  of  His 
kingdom!  And  what  blessings  they  might  enjoy  through 
eternal  ages,  would  they  but  pass  over  the  line  which  for 
ever  separates  the  two  kingdoms  of  light  and  darkness,  of 
benevolence  and  sin  ! 

"  Walking  out  in  the  country,  I  saw  two  Mussulmans,  one 
saying  his  prayers  and  going  through  his  prostrations  with  all 
apparent  devotion,  and  the  other  sitting  by  and  relating  to 
him  for  his  entertainment  a  story  with  all  particularity. 
When  the  devotee  had  performed  all  the  required  ceremonies, 
and,  finished  repeating  all  the  words  to  be  said,  he  turned, 
and,  as  though  he  had  only  been  cleaning  his  teeth,  made  the 
proper  replies  to  the  different  parts  of  the  story,  to  which  he 
had  evidently  been  listening  with  interest ;  and  neither  the 
one  nor  the  other  seemed  to  feel  that  he  had  been  guilty  of 
any  impropriety.  And,  alas !  how  many  in  Christian  lauds, 


A   BLIND   MAN.  277 

it  is  to  be  feared,  are  guilty  of  similar  impropriety  !  How 
many  in  public  prayer,  instead  of  transacting  business  with 
heaven,  are  thinking  their  own  thoughts,  pursuing  their  own 
plans,  following  after  their  own  wandering  imaginations,  and 
telling  their  own  story  to  themselves ! 

"  Several  days  since  I  passed  by  a  blind  man  whom  I 
have  often  met  before,  but,  on  account  of  the  crowd,  1  had 
no  opportunity  of  speaking  a  word  to  him.  I  placed  in  his 
hands,  however,  the  third  part  of  our  Armeno-Turkish  Old 
Testament,  which  has  been  recently  bound  up  and  ready  for 
delivery.  He  smiled,  pressed  it  to  his  lips,  and  put  it  into 
his  bosom  without  uttering  a  word,  though  I  saw  his  lips 
move  for  some  time,  as  if  addressing  his  own  heart,  or  his  God. 
Some  young  ladies,  who  were  passing  at  the  time,  smiled 
more  than  he  did,  to  see  me  give  a  book  to  a  blind  man, — 
the  very  last  thing  in  the  world  to  give  him,  they  doubtless 
thought.  But  there  is  more  real  good  sense  iu  it  than  a 
superficial  observer  or  thinker  would  be  apt  to  imagine ;  for 
the  book  has  to  be  read  aloud,  and  thus  several  may  be  benefited 
at  once.  On  speaking  to  him  to-day,  he  immediately  began 
to  tell  me  about  the  good  man  who  was  so  roughly  handled 
by  Satan.  I  could  not  imagine  at  first  whom  he  should 
mean,  but  I  soon  recollected  the  circumstance  of  the  book, 
and  perceived  he  was  telling  me  of  the  Patriarch  Job,  — 
being  so  full  of  the  subject  that  he  had  not  thought  it  neces 
sary  to  mention  his  name  ;  for  of  whom  can  the  whole  world 
be  thinking  but  of  that  afflicted  man  ?  He  said  he  had,  blind 
though  he  was,  read  the  whole  story  over  several  times,  and 
with  great  comfort  to  himself.  This  led  me  to  bless  God 
that  1  had  been  instrumental  in  putting  His  holy  word  into  a 
language  which  the  poor  afflicted  ones  of  earth  can  under 
stand  ;  and  it  led  me  to  think,  also,  that  a  tract  on  afflictions 
might  be  very  useful  for  these  poor  people.  They  need 
something  to  comfort  them ;  especially  something  to  teach 
them  how  to  improve  their  afflictions,  and  to  derive  spiritual 
benefit  from  them." 

June  4,  1842,  he  writes  to  his  brother  Temple  :  — 

"Mrs.  Schneider  expressed  her  utter  astonishment  that 
she  could  converse  as  familiarly  with  you  as  a  brother. 
She  thought  you  were  as  an  angel  of  God,  so  far  above  all 
human  imperfection  as  to  have  little  or  no  sympathy  with 
mortals.  But  she  found  you  could  so  far  condescend  to  those 


278  FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

of  low  estate  as  to  be  able  to  speak  words  of  comfort  even 
to  her  heart.  I  told  her  that  the  more  any  one  grows  in 
grace,  the  lower,  and  not  higher,  he  becomes,  and  the  more 
fitted  he  is  to  sympathize  with  those  who  are  struggling 
amidst  many  temptations  and  sorrows  to  keep  on  the  way 
that  leads  to  life  eternal.  Christ  had  perfect  sympathy. 
Ours  is  at  best  imperfect ;  but  the  more  we  are  like  Him,  the 
better  fitted  we  are  to  have  compassion  on  the  ignorant,  and 
those  who  are  out  of  the  way,  and  those  who  meet  with  trials 
and  afflictions.  This  seems  a  paradox.  But  the  whole  of 
Christianity  is  a  paradox.  When  I  am  weak,  then  am  1 
strong.  When  I  die,  then  I  live.  When  I  am  poor,  then 
am  I  rich.  When  I  have  nothing,  then  have  I  all  things. 

"  The  first  time  I  saw  Dr.  Payson,  of  Portland,  I  was  per 
fectly  astonished  to  see  him  on  the  side-hill  without  his  hat, 
running  after  a  stray  horse,  and  throwing  stones  at  him.  I 
was  no  longer  afraid  to  come  nigh  him,  and  speak  to  him, 
but  I  was  afraid  he  might  commit  some  sin  by  hitting  his 
horse  with  too  big  a  stone." 

When  he  had  completed  his  translation  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments,  giving  to  the  Armenian  population  the 
whole  word  of  God  in  their  own  tongue,  Mr.  Goodell 
commenced  a  systematic  exposition  of  the  Scriptures  in  a 
course  of  lectures.  For  this  service  he  had  become  emi 
nently  fitted  by  his  familiarity  with  every  line  of  the  sacred 
volume  in  the  languages  in  which  it  was  written,  and  by 
having  deeply  imbibed  its  spirit  while  carefully  and  prayer 
fully  studying  its  pages.  This  exposition  proved  highly  in 
teresting  and  edifying  to  all  who  had  learned  to  prize  the 
word  of  God.  Occasionally  he  noted  down  in  his  journal 
the  incidents  and  illustrations  he  had  used,  and  their  effect 
upon  his  hearers.  The  following  is  a  specimen  :  — 

"July  22,  1842.  Our  meetings  twice  a  week  for  a  famil 
iar  exposition  of  the  Scriptures  have  been  continued  to  the 
present  time,  and  the  interest  in  them  seems  unabated. 
When  I  commenced  the  one  on  the  Sabbath,  I  expected  that 
the  other  on  Tuesday  mornings,  which  was  comparatively 
small,  would  dwindle  away,  and  become  merged  in  this  ;  but 
I  am  happy  to  say  that  this  has  not  been  the  case.  Some- 


SCRIPTURE  EXPOSITION.  279 

times  half  a  chapter  is  commented  on  at  a  meeting,  and  some 
times  only  one  verse,  or  even  half  a  verse.  When  any  fail 
to  understand,  or  when  they  wish  for  more  full  explanations, 
they  ask  questions.  Some  of  our  more  constant  hearers  are 
very  shrewd  and  clear-headed  men  ;  and,  when  they  get  hold 
of  the  idea  intended  to  be  conveyed,  which  is  often  before 
we  have  completed  the  explanation,  their  very  eyes  sparkle, 
and  they  seem  to  *  rejoice  as  one  that  findeth  great  spoil.' 
I  have  often  thought  of  that  beautiful  passage  in  Jeremiah, 
*  Thy  words  were  found,  and  I  did  eat  them ;  and  thy  word 
was  unto  me  the  joy  and  rejoicing  of  my  heart.'  They  swal 
low  down  the  truth  by  whole  mouthfuls,  like  those  who  have 
been  long  famishing.  And  to  open  the  rich  treasures  of  the 
Gospel  to  such  is  like  '  pouring  water  upon  the  thirsty,  and 
floods  upon  the  dry  ground.'  Not  a  drop  seems  to  be  wasted. 
Often  does  every  ear  seem  open,  every  eye  riveted,  and  every 
heart  prepared  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  receive  the  truth.  The 
word  is  with  power.  Jt  comes  with  all  the  authority  of 
eternal  truth.  It  comes  with  all  the  freshness  of  a  revelation 
from  God.  It  cuts  every  way,  like  the  sword  with  two  edges. 
It  scatters  all  the  mists  and  mazes  of  night,  like  the  rising  of 
the  sun.  It  is  '  perfect,  converting  the  soul.' 

Several  of  those  who  attend  take  notes,  and  especially  of 
all  references  to  parallel  passages  in  the  Old  Testament.  To 
find  so  much  pure  Gospel  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  such  a 
wonderful  degree  of  harmony  between  the  Old  and  the  New, 
and  so  much  more  of  spirituality  and  of  real  evangelical 
religion  among  the  patriarchs  and  prophets,  than  even  the 
disciples  appear  to  have  had  before  their  baptism  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  is  altogether  new  to 
them.  And  those  who  thus  take  notes  do  it  for  the  purpose 
of  communicating  to  others  what  they  hear  from  us.  They 
'  gather  up  the  fragments,'  and  retail  them;  and,  as  retailers, 
nobody  in  all  Constantinople  carries  on  a  brisker  trade  than 
they  do.  They  light  their  candle,  not  to  conceal  it  under  a 
bushel,  but  to  put  it  on  a  candlestick,  for  the  public  benefit. 
And  the  water  they  drink  for  their  own  refreshment  becomes 
a  well  of  living  water,  springing  up  for  the  refreshment  of 
all  their  neighbors  and  friends." 

During  the  year  1842,  the  Gospel  made  silent  but  rapid 
progress  among  the  Armenians.  The  Spirit  was  moving 
upon  the  hearts  of  the  people  with  greater  power  than  at 


280          FORTY   YEARS  IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

any  previous  time.  Many  who  had  rested  in  the  forms  and 
ceremonies  of  the  church,  and  who  had  trusted  to  the  priests 
to  negotiate  with  God  in  their  behalf,  learned  for  the  first 
time  that  "  God  is  a  Spirit,  and  they  that  worship  Him  must 
worship  Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth,"  and  that  there  is  only 
"  one  Mediator  between  God  and  men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus." 
Some  who  had  been  stout  opposers  of  the  truth,  taking  part 
or  rejoicing  in  the  persecution  of  the  followers  of  Christ, 
were  humbled  at  the  foot  of  the  cross.  The  female  part  of 
the  population,  which,  owing  to  the  seclusion  in  which  the 
women  of  the  East  are  kept,  and  in  part  also  to  their  igno 
rance,  had  been  inaccessible,  now  began  to  feel  the  truth, 
and  for  the  first  time  were  among  the  attendants  upon  the 
ministration  of  the  word.  Having  the  whole  word  of  God 
in  their  own  familiar  language,  many  of  the  people  began  to 
study  it  as  did  the  ancient  Bereans,  searching  the  Scriptures 
daily,  though  not  so  much  to  learn  whether  these  things  were 
so,  as  to  learn  more  and  more  of  Christ  and  of  His  truth. 

The  believers  at  the  capital  had  rest  for  a  time,  but  the 
arm  of  persecution  was  not  withdrawn  in  the  interior.  Many 
in  the  towns  distant  from  Constantinople,  who  had  heard  the 
word  gladly,  were  called  to  suffer  as  witnesses  for  the  truth. 
At  Erzroom,  an  enlightened  and  truly  pious  priest,  who  had 
begun  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  its  simplicity,  was  seized  by 
order  of  his  bishop,  bastinadoed  until  he  swooned,  and  in 
that  state  was  thrown  into  prison  and  bound  with  chains. 
At  Nicomedia,  and  at  other  places  nearer  the  capital,  where 
the  number  of  believers  was  multiplied,  the  enemies  of  the 
truth  were  restrained  from  using  violence,  but  they  did  not 
at  all  withhold  the  tongue  of  hatred  and  slander. 

In  the  midst  of  all  the  opposition,  an  incident  transpired 
that  was  full  of  encouragement,  in  regard  to  the  nature 
and  depth  of  the  work  that  was  going  on  in  the  hearts 
of  the  people.  It  was  found  that  during  the  summer  of 
1842,  a  number  of  pious  Armenians,  whose  services  had 
been  broken  up  by  their  own  ecclesiastics,  resorted  secretly 


EEVISION.  281 

to  a  retired  spot  among  the  hills,  not  far  from  Constantinople, 
where,  of  their  own  motion,  or  rather  moved  only  by  the 
divine  Spirit,  they  organized  a  missionary  society.  They 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  time  had  arrived  for  them  to 
send  to  their  brethren  in  other  parts  of  the  empire  the  glad 
tidings  which  had  brought  life  and  joy  to  their  hearts,  and 
they  actually  set  apart  for  this  service  one  of  their  own  num 
ber,  who  was  sent  into  the  interior  to  preach  Christ  to  their 
benighted  brethren,  and  his  labors  were  greatly  blessed  from 
on  high. 

Two  years  after  completing  the  translation  of  the  Old 
Testament  into  the  Armeno-Turkish,  Mr.  Goodell  wrote  to 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Anderson,  announcing  the  revision  of  the  New. 
His  letter  is  an  eloquent  tribute  to  the  priceless  value  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  and  a  fresh  evidence  that  the  writer  had 
been  drinking  deeply  at  the  fountain  of  the  water  of  life, 
while  drawin  water  for  others. 


CONSTANTINOPLE,  Jan.  27,  1843. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  You  will  have  as  much  pleasure 
in  receiving  the  intelligence  as  I  have  in  announcing  it  that 
the  revision  of  the  New  Testament  is  now  completed  by  me, 
and  that  it  is  nearly  all  printed.  I  had  the  same  pious,  able, 
and  faithful  helper  that  I  had  in  translating  the  Old  Testa 
ment,  and,  although  the  whole  was  rewritten  by  him,  yet  it 
was  finished  in  just  about  one  year.  And  it  is  in  a  style  so 
much  more  acceptable  than  the  previous  edition,  that  I  trust 
it  can  be  said,  "  The  former  had  no  glory  in  this  respect,  by 
reason  of  the  glory  that  excelleth."  I  have  now  put  into  the 
hands  of  that  portion  of  the  Armenian  population  who  use 
only  the  Armeno-Turkish  language  the  whole  word  of  God, 
—  all  the  information  that  has  ever  come  from  heaven  for 
their  instruction  and  benefit,  —  "  and  therein  I  do  rejoice, 
yea,  and  will  rejoice.'1 

But  with  translations  and  revisions  I  have  now  done  for 
ever,  and  "  the  poor  remnant  of  my  days  "  I  hope  to  spend 
in  pouring  into  the  ears  of  men  some  of  those  great  and  glo 
rious  truths  which  I  have  been  engaged  for  several  years  in 
spreading  out  before  their  eyes.  But  "  which  shall  prosper, 


282          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

whether  this  or  that,  or  whether  they  both  shall  be  alike 
good,"  who  but  God  can  tell.  This,  however,  is  a  matter  which 
concerneth  us  not,  and  of  which,  indeed,  we  are  incapable  of 
judging.  Jt  is  in  the  hands  of  God,  and  as  He  employeth 
whatever  instruments  it  pleaseth  Him,  so  in  bringing  men  to 
a  knowledge  of  the  truth  He  useth  whichever  of  their  organs 
of  sense  He  chooseth,  whether  their  eye  or  their  ear.  The 
noble  Berearis  are  specially  commended  for  having  made  use 
of  their  eyes,  and  to  this  the  sacred  writer  ascribes  the  great 
success  of  the  Gospel  in  that  place.  And  in  the  reformation 
in  England,  Tindall's  translation  of  the  New  Testament  was 
apparently  more  blessed  in  opening  the  eyes  of  men  and  con 
vincing  them  of  the  truth  than  any  other  means  whatever. 
What  could  the  preaching  of  even  one  hundred  reformed 
priests  have  effected  without  it?  Such  a  translation  was 
absolutely  necessary  to  satisfy  the  minds  and  to  quiet  the 
consciences  of  men.  Without  this,  how  should  they  know 
whether  to  believe  this  priest  or  that  ?  Kvery  thing  would 
depend,  not  on  a  solid  foundation,  but  on  the  eloquence,  or, 
rather,  the  influence  of  the  speaker.  In  carrying  forward 
all  such  reformations,  the  Bible  must  be  the  final  appeal,  and 
of  this  not  a  part,  but  the  whole,  because  in  such  cases  the 
part  published  would  be  rejected  by  the  opposer,  and  the 
appeal  be  made  to  the  part  unpublished ;  and  because,  too, 
the  whole  must  be  very  thoroughly  examined  before  the 
mind  can  be  convinced  that  none  of  the  superstitions  and 
errors  which  have  crept  into  a  corrupt  church  can  be  found 
in  any  part  of  the  Bible. 

Turn,  now,  to  our  labors  among  the  Armenians.  Our 
whole  work  with  them  is  emphatically  a  Bible  work.  The 
Bible  is  our  only  standard,  and  the  Bible  is  our  final  appeal. 
And  it  is  even  more  necessary  for  us  than  it  was  for  the 
reformers  in  England,  because  we  are  foreigners.  Without 
it,  we  could  say  one  thing  and  the  priests  and  bishops  could 
say  another ;  but  where  would  be  the  umpire  ?  It  would  be 
nowhere,  and  all  our  efforts  would  be  like  "  beating  the  air." 

And  we  may  ask,  What  could  even  the  apostles  have  done 
without  the  IJiblf  ?  Among  the  Jews  they  could  have  Hone 
absolutely  nothing.  They  based  their  whole  new  revelation 
upon  it.  They  appealed  to  it  always,  and  they  asserted  it  to 
be  more  sure  and  certain  than  any  voice  they  had  themselves 
heard  in  the  holy  mount.  And  so  our  Saviour  Himself 
appealed  to  it.  Instead  of  requiring  the  Jews  to  take  Ilia 


tnftt»  word  for  the  truth  of  any  doctrine,  Ite  *Jth*»r 

It  to  th"»n  hy  « miracle  or  referred  tli*in  to  their  own  Heri|»l- 

"••     for  i'"   (rut It  of  It, 

Among  *1w  O"n»i)ef  tfw  »•»•«»  *«**  of  eoiir*«>f  different! 
Hii'l  *o,  mmn^  '•••  I.-  .'I.-  •-  noW4  •'"  eA**j  jo  -in.-,,..  ,,,  t|,ia 
one  renjwet,  very  different.  Hut  ••••••.••;•  the  «n»-i"nt  »l*>w«i,  or 

«  of  ll"    p"    •  ••'   •'  •  .     il"    '   •  .  .(  » 


mi.  i.  iii  .!<•.•,.  —  nil  «•.«(.»  a  I.  ••,  of  (i"  "  i<  Hi.-  >i  find  bigoted 
doctor*  —  lont,  an  tbe»e  nominaM  'bri«tian«  I- "I  ''»  l»nowh  d{/e 
of  th")r  own  Merij»ture*«  the  aj>o«t)pn,  in  order  to  eonvine^ 
1 1"  MI  1 1.,  i  .[•  ••  wan  the  M<  >.'.  .,,,,  i  f,.  i  ,,i  -,n  have 
tniM-l  •'•  'I  il"  ir  H<'Hj)luren  into  a  hmvM  ,  •  it..  •  . .  ni.i  .!•  •!•  . 
»IMI«|  \\'iili.ini  tin  tin  \  <.in!.i  I,.  •  i,  i  .  ci  i... .  >i  one  «t*-n. 
They  rould  not  bave"«bown  hy  the  Heripturen  that  »J«  *«H 
wan  ''.'it  And  "•  !.  wan  the  ntate  of  mind  among  the 
•  '•  that  there  wan  no  other  way  to  nhow  them  thin.  Jtut 
the  Herijffuren  were  already  trannlal^d  to  their  hand,  and 

ever  now  rejected  their  tentiirtony^  r*jj"''t^l  (\*n\  Him ••  if 

AIM!  no  we  ourw'lvn,  foicignern  il' 
Jahoi 'ing  nn'l'  <  \«  •  uliar  -I  .-i  n  •  ._••.  yet  with  the  Jiihle  in 
our  It  n.'l  and  in  the  hand^  of  il"  •  people,  -<  •  n<  <-,  I..- 
' '  in'ling  on  the  !'•••*  of  -V"1  "'''  huilding  for  et/ernity^ 
JiiM  without  it  we  are  weak)  we  huild  on  the  nand*  and  our 
l.."i  .  in  «').'.'  -I  io  l»«  hlown  down  hy  every  ntortn  thai 
>  \-  '  |M  hy. 

Thcne  remark  n  f  thought  it  n«  •  <  "  v  fxi  make  an  an  «j»ol- 
ogy,  nhould  any  h"  •''  •  ",.  -I  t,,  .....  for  having  npent  w;fnf> 
eight  yearn  of  my  life  in  thin  work  of  translating  the  word  of 
(>od.  And  it  in  al*o  worthy  of  very  nj»eei<il  remjok  that  thin 
\\-"l  li"  !•<  •  "  'n  IM -I  ou  when  mu«  h  of  the  time,  on  a*wount 
of  the  |>e«;uliar  eireumntanfjen  of  our  rninnion,  I  eould  have 
IM  <  n  doing  nothing  «  Ue  of  any  ooiiifmrative  importan*^*.  1 
I'l'  •  (Jod  that  my  attention  wan  'ln< « i<  <1  to  BO  great  and 
good  a  wo/k,  and  to  Him  he  everlanting  thankn  that  the 
whole  in  now  brought  to  a  eoncJunion,  J  read  over  the  Jant 
'  !•  .|di  i  I  (runt,  with  nome  gratitude  and  humility,  eertMtnly 
null  i<  n'l<  MM  «n  and  team,  and,  finding  at  I'M  r  I" 
tranwl  'i'n  I,  .-I  Met  u|>  a  pillar,  on  whieh  I" 
••  'Jo  (jod  he  all  the  praine  and  glory /*  1 
11  Amen  and  am«  n,  and  let  every  one 

inn'  il  1  " 


284          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

And  thus  I  left  for  ever  the  rich  and  beautiful  country 
through  which  I  have  been  passing,  —  a  land  "  flowing  with 
milk  and  honey,"  that  drinketh  water  of  the  rain  of  heaven, 
and  hath  fountains  gushing  out  from  every  hill,  and  springing 
up  into  everlasting  life.  And,  blessed  be  God !  that  portion 
of  the  community  for  whose  special  benefit  I  have  prepared 
these  Scriptures  in  Armeno-Turkish  have  now  no  occasion  in 
"  passing  through  the  valley  of  Baca  "  to  "  make  it  a  well," 
for  they  will  find  it  already  made  for  them,  and  "  the  stone 
rolled  away  from  the  well's  mouth  ;  "  and  thus  they  may  now 
"  with  joy  draw  water  out  of  the  wells  of  salvation,"  for  the 
refreshment  of  their  souls  for  ever. 

And  am  I  yet  alive,  and  favored,  too,  with  a  good  measure 
of  health  and  strength  ?  Oh,  what  thanks  shall  I  render  to 
the  God  of  all  patience  that,  instead  of  now  casting  me  aside 
as  a  broken  vessel  in  which  He  hath  no  pleasure,  He  should 
still  deign  to  employ  me  in  His  service  !  I  desire  no  other 
service  but  His,  here  or  in  eternity ;  and  I  would,  therefore, 
now  consecrate  myself  to  the  work  of  missions,  renewedly 
and  unreservedly,  as  though  I  had  never  done  it  before. 
Let  me  now  begin  anew  to  serve  God  in  the  Gospel  of  His 
Son.  Let  me  now  have  an  unction  from  the  Holy  One,  that 
the  word  spoken  by  me  may  be  with  power,  and  that  the  dead 
may  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God  and  live.  Let  me  now 
tell  the  good  news  of  salvation  as  news,  and  not  as  an  old 
story.  Let  me  tell  it  as  though  I  had  myself  just  believed  it 
for  the  first  time  ;  or,  rather,  let  me  be  as  full  of  it  as  though 
I  had  just  received  it  fresh  from  heaven.  Having  set  wide 
open  to  thousands  of  the  perishing  all  the  twelve  gates  of  the 
New  Jerusalem,  let  me  now  gird  myself  anew,  and  go  out 
and  compel  them  to  come  in. 

It  is  now  more  than  twenty  years  since  I  received  the 
charge  of  the  ordaining  council  at  New  Haven,  and,  although 
I  would  by  no  means  consider  that  as  having  waxed  old  and 
lost  its  efficacy,  yet  I  would  now  solemnly  charge  myself  to 
come  henceforward  to  my  fellow-men  as  though  I  had  the 
most  important  and  cheering  intelligence  possible  to  commu 
nicate  to  them.  I  would  charge  myself  to  take  right  hold  with 
both  hands  of  every  child  of  mortality  that  comes  in  my  way, 
and  say  to  him,  "  My  brother,  I  bring  you  the  love  of  your 
Father  in  heaven,  with  the  very  richest  present  His  benefi 
cence  could  bestow,  —  a  cup  of  blessings,  overflowing  with 
eternal  life.  Receive  it,  and  you  shall  live  for  ever." 


DEATH   OF   COMMODORE   PORTER.  285 

"  But  who  is  sufficient  for  these  things  ?  "  and  especially 
one  who  has  in  a  measure  unfitted  himself  for  the  work  by 
previous  habits  ?  Arid,  after  all,  where  I  shall  with  the  liv 
ing  voice  address  hundreds,  I  shall  probably  by  means  of  the 
printed  word  address  thousands  ;  and,  when  the  former  is 
silent  in  death,  the  latter  will,  I  hope,  be  guiding  souls  to 
heaven  from  generation  to  generation.  And  u  blessed  is  he 
that  readeth,"  as  well  as  "  they  that  hear,"  these  words  of 
spirit  and  life. 

Asking  your  prayers,  that  I  may  be  faithful  even  unto 
death,  I  subscribe  myself,  as  in  the  first  days  of  our  long 
acquaintance, 

"  Your  brother  and  companion  in  tribulation,  and  in  the 
patience  and  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ," 

W.    GOODELL. 

Mr.  Goodell  makes  the  following  record  of  the  death  of 
Commodore  Porter,  who  had  continued  to  represent  the  gov 
ernment  of  the  Uniied  States  at  the  Porte  from  the  time  of 
his  arrival  in  1831  :  — 

"  Pera,  March  4,  1843.  The  Commodore  was  attacked 
with  pleurisy  on  Monday  night.  Yesterday  I  went  down  to 
see  him,  at  San  Stephano,  and  found  him  insensible,  and  to 
all  appearance  dying.  I  prayed  with  him,  or,  rather,  for 
him,  and  he  expired  very  soon  after,  before  I  left.  lie  had 
his  reason  very  little  from  the  first  attack,  but  previous  to  it 
he  seemed  to  feel  that  the  day  of  life  was  drawing  to  a  close. 
About  two  months  ago  1  informed  him  that  he  could  not  live, 
that  he  must  look  upon  himself  as  a  dying  man,  and  must 
now  let  this  world  go,  and  turn  his  thoughts  to  another.  He 
was  affected,  but  said  little.  He  said  he  was  a  sinner,  and 
expected  salvation  by  Christ  alone. 

"  The  funeral  will  be  on  Monday,  and  his  body  will  lie  for 
the  present,  according  to  his  wish,  at  the  foot  of  the  flag-staff, 
but  it  will  ultimately  be  removed  to  the  United  States." 

In  an  early  part  of  this  volume  Mr.  Goodell  relates  how 
he  found  a  wife  for  Mr.  Thurston,  one  of  the  first  band  of 
missionaries  to  the  Sandwich  Islands.  The  wife  to  whom 
Mr.  Thurston  was  thus  introduced  was  Mr.  Goodell's  own 
cousin,  Persis  Goodale.  In  the  year  1841  Mrs.  Thurston 


286          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

came  to  this  country  to  provide  for  the  education  of  several 
of  her  children.  They  landed  at  New  York  in  the  month  of 
February,  and,  coming  from  and  through  a  tropical  climate 
to  our  shores  at  this  inclement  season  of  the  year,  nearly  all 
were  attacked  with  pneumonia.  One  of  the  daughters,  Lucy 
Goodale,  died  at  the  home  of  Mr.  A.  P.  Cumings,  soon  after 
landing.  A  sketch  of  her  life,  prepared  by  Mrs.  Cumings, 
was  published  at  the  time  in  a  volume,  entitled  "  The  Mis 
sionary's  Daughter."  It  is  now  among  the  publications  of 
the  American  Tract  Society.  The  letter  which  follows  was 
addressed  to  Mrs.  Thurston  :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  May  8,  1841. 
MY    DEAR   COUSIN  AND  BELOVED    SlSTER    IN    ClIRIST, 

How  much  I  would  give  to  sit  down  by  your  side  arid  min 
gle  my  tears  with  yours  on  the  death  of  your  beloved  child ! 
But,  as  this  cannot  be,  let  me  at  least  assure  you  of  our  sym 
pathy  and  of  our  prayers.  From  my  recent  long  letter  to 
my  father,  you  will  learn  that  we  also  have  been  called  to 
pass  through  the  cloud  and  through  the  sea.  But,  my  dear 
sister,  it  was  not  a  dark  but  "  a  bright  cloud  "  that  u  over 
shadowed  "  you  and  us  ;  and,  though  we  "  feared  as  we  en 
tered  into  it,"  yet  did  there  not  come  from  it  to  our  ears 
some  of  the  sweetest  accents  we  ever  heard  ?  Yea,  and  let 
the  cloud  be  ever  so  dark  and  terrific,  yet,  with  an  encour 
aging  word  from  Heaven  issuing  from  it,  we  shall  come 
safely  out  of  it,  and  see  nothing  "  save  Jesus  only"  Blessed 
sight !  and  blessed  fruit  of  sanctified  afflictions  ! 

"And  darkness  shows  us  worlds  of  light 
We  never  saw  by  day." 

The  letter  to  my  father  left  my  dear  wife  and  our  eldest 
daughter  both  ill  of  that  same  dreadful  fever.  The  latter 
soon  afterwards  became  much  worse,  and  our  youngest  child 
was  also  seized  in  the  same  manner.  The  oldest  physician 
of  the  place,  too,  was  for  pursuing  a  course  quite  unsatisfac 
tory  to  me.  Then  it  was  that  my  mind  became  exceedingly 
anxious  and  my  feelings  unsubdued.  One  night  I  was  so 
troubled  I  could  not  sleep.  God  held  my  eyes  waking,  my 
flesh  trembled  for  fear  of  Him,  and  I  was  afraid  of  His  judg 
ments.  The  next  day  I  was  very  low  in  body  as  well  as  in 


LETTER   TO    MRS.    THURSTON.  287 

spirit.  But  at  evening,  Mrs.  Goodell  spake  some  words  of 
comfort  to  me,  and  I  was  strengthened.  And  I  was  enabled 
to  say,  and,  I  hope,  in  some  good  measure  to  feel,  "  this 
family  is  not  mine,  but  God's  ;  these  children  are  not  mine, 
but  His ;  and  He  has  the  most  perfect  right  to  interpose,  in 
terfere,  order,  govern,  dispose,  give,  or  take  away,  according 
to  His  own  good  pleasure.  Here  am  I,  let  Him  do  with  me 
as  seemeth  good  in  His  sight.  Let  Him  correct  me,  but  in 
mercy,  not  in  anger,  lest  He  bring  me  to  nothing,  and  I  be 
consumed  by  the  blow  of  His  hand.'* 

But,  though  our  heavenly  Father  cause  grief,  yet  will  Tie 
have  compassion,  according  unto  the  multitude  of  His  tender 
mercies.  He  is  healing  all  our  diseases,  and  restoring  us 
again  to  health  and  comfort,  though  till  this  day  we  have 
not  all  been  able  to  meet  either  at  the  family  altar  or  around 
the  table  of  daily  bounty.  One  also  is  not.  A  month  to 
day  since  we  imprinted  upon  his  cheek  the  last  token  of 
affection.  But,  though  out  of  sight,  he  is  not  out  of  remem 
brance,  nor  out  of  existence.  We  learn  that  the  conduct  of 
our  dear  boy  in  his  sickness,  and  our  conduct  at  his  death, 
are  topics  of  conversation  in  different  circles  among  the 
Armenians  in  Constantinople.  Even  the  patriarch  ex 
claimed,  "  Who  ever  heard  of  such  things."  Some  of  our 
native  brethren  seem  much  strengthened  by  what  they  have 
seen  of  the  power  of  the  Gospel,  though  I  feel  that,  alas ! 
we  have  exhibited  but  a  poor  specimen  of  it.  But  surely 
we  are  encouraged  to  pray  that  this  our  affliction  may  prove 
a  blessing  to  many,  even  to  those  of  another  nation  and 
another  language.  And  oh  that  we  ourselves  may  all  re 
ceive  the  full  benefit  our  heavenly  Father  designed  for  us  by 
this  discipline  ! 

The  account  of  your  beloved  daughter,  which  was  pub 
lished  in  the  "  New  York  Observer,"  my  family  read  with 
melancholy  interest.  May  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  knows  your 
sorrows,  and  every  minute  circumstance  of  your  affliction, 
make  all  grace  abound  towards  you,  and  towards  your  sur 
viving  children,  and  towards  your  far-distant  husband !  The 
world  can  do  nothing  for  us.  But  Christ  can  do  every  thing. 
Philosophy  can  only  steel  our  hearts,  and  brace  up  our  souls 
with  stubbornness,  and  render  us  just  what  we  should  not 
be,  viz.,  insensible.  But  the  grace  of  God  is  all-sufficient. 
It  can  soften  our  hearts  on  the  one  hand,  and  sustain  and 
elevate  them  on  the  other.  Let  us  be  more  than  ever  en- 


288  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

couraged  to  pray  that  His  blessed  will  may  be  done.  In 
our  own  families,  our  will  is  done,  and  not  our  children's. 
We  cross  their  wills  every  day,  and  often  without  assigning 
a  reason  for  it ;  and,  if  they  are  very  small,  we  cannot  make 
them  understand  a  reason.  Should  their  wills  be  done,  our 
families  would  be  in  a  state  of  utter  confusion.  So  in  God's 
great  family,  let  His  blessed  will  be  done,  and  not  our  fool 
ish  wills  ;  and  this,  whether  we  can  at  present  understand  the 
reasons  of  His  conduct  or  not.  Indeed,  the  time  will  never 
come  when  we  shall  fully  comprehend  all  the  ways  of  God. 
We  shall  have  to  trust  Him  for  ever  and  ever,  as  the  angels 
have  to  do  now ;  for  who  by  searching  can  find  Him  out  ? 
Let  us  begin  to  confide  in  Him  now,  and  go  on  increasing  in 
this  confidence  for  ever. 

Mrs.  Goodell  unites  in  Christian  love.  Remember  us  all 
to  your  children. 

Your  truly  sympathizing  friend  and  brother, 

W.  GOODELL. 

In  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Cumings,  written  several  years  later, 
he  acknowledged  in  his  own  peculiar  style  the  receipt  of  a 
copy  of  "  The  Missionary's  Daughter,"  which  she  had  sent 
to  him  at  Constantinople :  — 

My  good  Sister,  Daughter,  or,  what  shall  I  call  you  ? 

I  suppose,  however,  it  makes  but  little  difference  what  I 
call  you  now,  for  long  before  I  shall  see  you,  you  will  be 
"  called  by  a  new  name,  which  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  shall 
name."  I  wonder  what  that  name  will  be !  Gentleness  ? 
Charity?  Patience?  Hope?  Zeal?  or  what?  I  fancy 
we  shall  recognize  Abraham  at  once.  As  far  off  as  he  can 
be  seen,  CONFIDENCE  IN  GOD  will  be  seen  inscribed  in  such 
bold  characters  on  his  whole  being,  that  he  will  at  once  be 
"  known  and  read  of  all  men."  So  when  we  meet  with  one 
whose  character  is  throughout  and  throughout  developed  in 
meekness,  we  shall  know  at  once  it  is  Moses. 

Now  I  can  form  no  idea  what  your  new  name  will  be,  nor, 
indeed,  what  will  be  my  own,  unless  it  be,  Unworthy  to  have 
a  name.  But  in  the  many  mansions  our  blessed  Saviour  has 
prepared  for  His  friends,  I  hope  that  yours  and  ours  will 
not  be  so  far  apart  but  that  we  can  see  each  other  occasion 
ally,  without  being  under  the  necessity  of  taking  a  sea  voy 
age.  I  am  thankful  that  my  precious  Sandwich  Island 


LETTER   FROM   REV.    JONAS    KING.  289 

cousin  has  put  me  in  communication  with  you,  and  that 
through  a  daughter  of  mine  and  a  brother  of  yours  I  am 
brought  into  almost  veritable  relationship,  while  through 
Jesus  Christ,  our  common  head,  the  connection  between  us  is 
still  nearer  and  more  precious,  and  it  will  continue  as  long  as 
our  connection  with  Jesus  Christ  will  continue. 

But  let  me  not  forget  —  for  that  is,  indeed,  the  object  of  this 
note  —  to  thank  you  for  the  Memoir  of  my  cousin.  I  shall 
read  it  with  double  interest  now  that  I  know  you  to  be  the 
writer.  And,  commending  ourselves  to  your  prayers,  I  re 
main,  in  Christ, 

Yours  affectionately, 

W.    GOODELL. 

February  14,  1843,  he  makes  this  brief  record:  "I  am 
this  day  fifty-one  years  old.  Abide  with  us,  blessed  Saviour, 
for  the  day  is  far  spent." 

The  Rev.  Jonas  King,  of  Athens,  having  visited  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Goodell  at  Constantinople  at  the  time  of  the  birth  of 
their  youngest  son,  playfully  promised  to  give  them  a  cow, 
on  condition  that  the  child  should  be  named  Jonas  King. 
On  his  return  to  Athens,  having  heard  that  the  name  of 
Edward  was  likely  to  be  substituted  for  Jonas,  in  making 
the  boy  a  King,  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Goodell :  — 

ATHENS,  Sept.  26,  1843. 

DEAR  BROTHER  GOODELL,  —  I  arrived  here  last  Satur 
day,  and  found  the  people  rejoicing  in  a  Constitution.  Such 
excitement  and  such  enthusiasm  I  seldom  ever  saw.  I  verily 
believe  if  any  man  in  the  streets  were  to  say  a  word  against 
the  Constitution  he  would  be  torn  in  pieces.  There  is  so 
much  steam  up,  and  such  a  fire  burning,  I  am  sometimes 
afraid  the  boiler  will  burst,  and  that  we  shall  some  of  us  be 
terribly  scalded.  However,  I  am  on  board  with  them,  and 
must  take  whatever  happens.  I  have  a  good  life-preserver 
in  the  protection  of  Him  who  is  the  giver  of  life,  in  whom 
we  live  and  move  and  have  our  being,  without  whom  not  a 
sparrow  falls  to  the  ground,  and  by  whom  even  the  very 
hairs  of  our  head  are  all  numbered. 

How  is  Mrs.  Goodell,  and  how  are  all  the  children  ?  What 
have  you  called  the  little  boy  who  made  his  appearance  at 
13  B 


290          FORTY   YEARS   IN    THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

your  house  the  first  time  when  I  was  there  ?  If  you  have 
called  him  Jonas  King,  I  suppose  I  shall  have  to  send  him  a 
cow.  But  if  he  is  only  called  King,  half  my  name,  I  must 
send  him  only  half  a  cow.  It  seems  that  the  name  of  the 
disobedient  prophet  who  fled  to  Tarshish  is  not  in  great 
repute  with  you !  But  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  believe  he 
was  quite  as  good  a  man  as  his  namesake,  who  has  been  sent 
to  preach  in  Greece !  I  feel  that  my  life  has  been  full  of 
disobedience,  and  I  often  wonder  at  the  mercy  of  God  in 
permitting  me  to  labor  in  His  cause  by  preaching  His  holy 
word. 

Pray  for  your  unworthy  brother, 

JONAS  KING. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  1843,  the  venerable  father  of  Mr. 
Goodell  died  at  the  home  of  his  son  in  Copley,  Ohio,  whither 
he  had  removed  a  few  years  previous.  The  letter  which 
Mr.  Goodell  wrote  to  his  brother  on  receiving  the  iiitelli 

O 

gence  was  inserted  at  the  commencement  of  these  Memoirs.* 
It  is  not  only  a  touching  tribute  of  filial  affection,  showing 
that  the  heart  of  the  writer  was  as  fresh  and  tender  in  its 
love  as  in  the  days  of  his  boyhood,  but,  as  a  specimen  of 
epistolary  composition,  and  for  the  spirit  of  glowing,  Scriptu 
ral  piety  that  it  breathes,  it  will  bear  many  perusals.  The 
Rev.  Dr.  William  Adams,  in  quoting  it  in  his  introduction  to 
"  The  Old  and  the  New,"  says,  "  We  know  not  which  to 
admire  the  most,  —  its  purity  of  taste,  its  depth  of  pathos,  or 
its  simplicity  of  piety." 

*  See  page  6. 


EXECUTION  FOR  APOSTASY.          291 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

IN  August,  1843,  occurred  an  event  which  in  its  results 
had  an  important  influence  upon  the  cause  of  religious 
liberty  in  Turkey,  and  an  important  bearing  upon  the  mis 
sion  work  in  that  country.  The  circumstances  are  detailed 
as  follows  in  an  official  despatch  to  his  government  by  Sir 
Stratford  Canning,  the  English  ambassador  :  — 

"Buyuk-Dere,  August  27,  1843.  Within  the  last  few  days 
an  execution  has  taken  place  at  Constantinople,  under  cir 
cumstances  which  have  occasioned  much  excitement  and 
indignation  among  the  Christian  inhabitants.  The  sufferer 
was  an  Armenian  youth  of  eighteen  or  twenty  years,  who, 
having  under  fear  of  punishment  declared  himself  a  Turk, 
went  to  the  island  of  Syra,  and,  returning  after  an  absence 
of  some  length,  resumed  his  former  religion.  Apprehensive 
of  the  danger,  but  resolved  not  to  deny  his  real  faith  a  second 
time,  he  kept  out  of  sight,  till  accident  betrayed  him  to  the 
police,  and  he  was  then  thrown  into  prison.  In  spite  of 
threats,  promises,  and  blows,  he  there  maintained  his  resolu 
tion,  refused  to  save  his  life  by  a  fresh  disavowal  of  Chris 
tianity,  and  was  finally  decapitated  in  one  of  the  most 
frequented  parts  of  the  city  with  circumstances  of  great 
barbarity." 

During  the  month  that  he  was  in  prison  every  effort 
was  made  by  the  Turks  to  induce  him  to  embrace  Mohamme 
danism.  He  was  offered  a  commission  in  the  army,  and 
other  inducements  were  held  out  to  him  to  say,  "  There  is 
one  God,  and  Mohammed  is  his  prophet."  He  was  several 
times  led  out  to  the  place  of  execution,  and  the  sword  of  the 
executioner  was  brandished  over  his  head,  as  though  his 


292          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

last  moment  had  come,  but  no  word  or  sign  of  apostasy 
was  extorted  from  him.  Sir  Stratford  Canning  exerted 
all  his  influence  to  secure  his  release,  and,  it  was  said, 
obtained  a  promise  from  the  Turkish  authorities  that  his 
life  should  be  spared ;  but  the  law  of  the  Koran,  as  inter 
preted  by  the  Turks,  was  put  in  execution.  The  man  was 
beheaded,  and,  according  to  custom,  his  head  was  placed 
between  his  legs,  and  his  body  exposed  in  a  public  place  for 
three  days. 

This  shocking  occurrence  led  to  a  formal  demand  on  the 
part  of  the  English,  French,  Russian,  and  Prussian  ambassa 
dors  for  the  abolition  of  the  death  penalty  for  a  change  of 
religion.  There  was  a  long  and  earnest  correspondence 
with  the  Turkish  government,  conducted  chiefly  by  the 
English  ambassador,  the  result  of  which  was  that  the 
Sultan,  on  the  21st  of  March,  1844,  gave  this  written 
pledge :  "  The  Sublime  Porte  engages  to  take  effectual 
measures  to  prevent  henceforward  the  execution  and  putting 
to  death  of  the  Christian  who  is  an  apostate."  On  the  23d 
of  March,  the  Sultan,  in  an  audience  which  he  granted  to 
Sir  Stratford  Canning,  gave  him  personally  this  assurance : 
"  Henceforward  neither  shall  Christianity  be  insulted  in  my 
dominions,  nor  shall  Christians  be  in  any  way  persecuted 
for  their  religion." 

The  chief  honor  of  obtaining  these  important  concessions 
from  the  highest  authority  in  the  Turkish  government 
belongs  to  that  noble  advocate  of  religious  liberty  and 
friend  of  Christian  missions,  Sir  Stratford  Canning,  who, 
upon  the  successful  termination  of  his  protracted  correspond 
ence,  declared  that  the  giving  of  such  a  pledge  by  the  Sultan 
seemed  to  him  little  less  than  a  miracle,  and  that  God  alone 
could  have  brought  it  to  pass. 

The  year  1843  was  memorable  for  another  movement 
in  the  cause  of  religious  freedom,  —  the  exodus  of  nearly  five 
hundred  ministers  from  the  Established  Church  of  Scotland, 
and  the  organization  of  the  Free  Church  on  the  basis  of 


THE   DISRUPTION   IN   SCOTLAND.  293 

Christ  alone  the  Head  and  King  of  the  church.  Among  the 
many  visitors  from  various  lands  at  the  Turkish  capital 
about  this  time  was  the  Rev.  R.  W.  Stewart,  to  whom, 
after  his  return  to  Scotland,  Mr.  Goodell  wrote,  express 
ing  his  cordial  sympathy  with  those  who  for  conscience'  sake 
had  gone  out  from  the  Establishment,  leaving  all  its  emolu 
ments  behind  them :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  Sept.  16,  1843. 

To  the  REV.  R.  W.  STEWART: 

REVEREND  AND  DEAR  SIR,  —  Your  note  from  Malta, 
with  the  music-book  of  Scotch  church  psalmody,  went  by  the 
way  of  Beyrout,  and  did  not  reach  me  till  quite  lately.  As 
our  eldest  daughter  has  been  at  Broosa  for  a  few  weeks,  we 
have  as  yet  only  tasted  a  wee  bit  of  your  sweet  music ;  but 
we  expect  she  will  return  next  week,  and  then  we  intend  to 
have  a  real  feast,  wishing  you  could  be  here  at  least  for  one 
evening  to  enjoy  it  with  us. 

Yours  of  August  the  21st  was  received  the  8th  inst.  And 
so,  dear  brother,  the  rnanse,  that  sweetest  and  happiest  and 
most  hallowed  of  all  spots,  is  gone  for  ever  !  Well,  you  all 
have  our  tenderest  sympathy,  and,  I  may  add,  you  all  have 
our  high  veneration.  Yes,  we  venerate  those  four  hundred 
and  seventy  men  of  God  who  stood  ready  at  the  call  of 
their  Master  to  "  provide  the  creels  again  ; "  and,  leaving  the 
manse,  the  glebe,  the  church,  the  stipend,  all,  to  go  forth,  not 
knowing  where  they  should  erect  their  next  altar  or  kindle 
their  next  hearth-fires.  Everlasting  thanks  to  the  great 
Head  of  the  church  that  there  are  so  many  of  this  stamp 
in  Scotland  !  —  men  of  noble  birth,  who  are  born  from  above 
and  belong  to  the  royal  family,  and  are  jealous  for  the  royal 
prerogatives,  and  who,  suffering  with  their  Prince  here,  shall 
soon  sit  down  with  Him  on  His  throne,  and  reign  with  Him 
for  ever.  That  memorable  18th  of  May  will  never  be  for 
gotten.  The  world  has  seen  nothing  like  it  for  at  least  two 
hundred  years.  With  what  a  great  cloud  of  witnesses  your 
Free  Church  must  have  been  surrounded,  composed  of  those 
ancient,  noble  martyrs,  confessors,  and  covenanters,  of  whom 
the  world  was  not  worthy  !  It  does  appear  to  me  that  the 
Lord  is  about  to  bless  all  Scotland  with  such  a  revival  of 
pure  and  uudefiled  religion  as  has  never  yet  been  known 
there,  and  that  the  influence  of  this  mighty  movement  of 


294    FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE. 

yours  will  be  felt,  not  only  in  every  part  of  England,  but 
even  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth.  It  is  intimately 
connected  with  the  light  and  liberty  and  glory  of  the  Gospel 
of  Christ,  and  the  missionary  spirit  seems  in  a  wonderful 
manner  to  pervade  and  sanctify  it  all. 

Do  you  remember  that  little,  cold,  upper  chamber  in  my 
house  ?  We  regretted  that  we  had  no  better  to  offer  to  one 
"  of  the  household  of  faith,"  and  he,  too,  an  "  ambassador  of 
Christ ; "  and,  had  we  not  considered  it  a  sort  of  discipline 
and  preparation  for  what  was  to  follow  when  driven  out 
from  your  own  pleasant  habitation,  with  all  the  comforts  and 
precious  recollections  of  thirty  years,  we  might  have  re 
gretted  it  the  more.  We  rejoice  that  Providence  has  as 
signed  you  so  interesting  and  important  a  post  as  the  one 
you  now  occupy.  And  who  knows  but  the  great  Head  of 
the  church  took  away  your  voice  on  purpose  that  you  might 
employ  your  pen  for  Him  in  this  new  situation ! 

Mrs.  Goodell  and  our  daughters  (for  since  I  commenced 
this  letter  the  one  at  Broosa  has  returned)  unite  in  the  kind 
est  regards  to  Mrs.  Stewart,  whom  we  shall  all  be  most  happy 
to  see  with  you,  and  to  whom  we  will  give  the  very  best  room 
in  the  house,  should  Providence  ever  direct  her  steps  with 
yours  to  the  city  of  domes  and  minarets.  Of  my  "  Sermon 
to  Mothers  "  she  is  at  liberty  to  make  any  use  which  she  may 
think  will  promote  the  cause  of  the  blessed  Redeemer.  I 
feel  that  I  could  make  it  better  in  some  respects,  but  perhaps 
I  should  make  it  worse,  and  at  any  rate  I  have  no  time  to 
make  the  experiment.  May  prayer  and  the  Lord's  blessing 
accompany  it ! 

All  our  families  unite  in  sending  Christian  salutations. 
Remember  us  very  kindly  to  Drs.  Chalmers,  Keith,  Black, 
and  Wilson,  should  it  be  convenient  for  you  to  do  so,  not 
forgetting  our  good  friend  and  brother,  Dr.  Rich.  And  say 
to  Mr.  Bonar  that  I  received  his  books,  that  I  love  him  as 
my  very  dearest  brother,  and  that  I  congratulate  him  on  the 
recovery  of  his  Bible  from  Jacob's  well.*  The  Lord  bless 
him  and  all  the  four  hundred  and  seventy  prophets  who  have 
not  bowed  the  knee  to  the  image  which  has  been  set  up  in 
Scotland. 

*  Mr.  Bonar's  pocket  Bible,  which  he  accidentally  dropped  into 
Jacob's  well,  near  Shechem,  was  subsequently  recovered  by  anotber 
traveller,  and  restored  to  him. 


A   NEW   ENGLAND   THANKSGIVING.  295 

My  address  is,  Rev.  William  Goodell,  Constantinople,  Tur 
key  ;  but  in  subscribing  myself,  I  am  always  and  only, 
Your  very  affectionate  brother  in  Christ, 

W.  GOODELL. 

In  October,  1843,  Mr.  Goodell  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  American-Oriental  Society,  and  a  diploma,  officially 
signed  and  forwarded  to  him  at  Constantinople,  is  found 
among  his  papers,  together  with  an  acknowledgment  of  a 
copy  of  the  first  edition  of  his  Armeno-Turkish  Bible,  which 
he  presented  to  the  society. 

An  occasion  of  much  interest  to  the  American  missionaries 
in  Turkey  occurred  in  the  course  of  this  year.  Up  to  this 
time  they  had  never  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  joining  with  the 
people  at  home  in  the  national  festival  of  Thanksgiving. 
The  mode  of  communicating  with  the  United  States  was  so 
tardy,  that  they  had  never  before  received  notice  of  the 
appointment  of  the  day  until  after  it  had  passed.  But  this 
year  the  proclamation  reached  them  in  season,  and  Mr. 
Goodell  thus  records  the  observance  of  the  feast :  — 

"  Constantinople,  December  1, 1843.  Yesterday  was  the  first 
Thanksgiving  (I  mean  New  England  Thanksgiving)  I  have 
kept  for  twenty-one  years.  We  have  never  known  before 
when  Thanksgiving  came  till  the  day  was  past;  but  the 
increased  facilities  of  intercourse  gave  us  this  year  timely 
information.  We  all  enjoyed  our  meeting  much.  It  was  at 
two  o'clock,  P.M.,  and  Mr.  K.  left  his  business,  and  he  and 
family,  with  a  pious  captain,  came.  Among  the  many  causes 
of  thankfulness  mentioned  were  the  following :  God's  love 
to  this  world,  —  a  thing  never  to  be  lost  sight  of  by  us  ;  that 
wonderful  grace  which  has  saved  us  from  sin  and  heL,  and 
raised  us  up  to  be  co-workers  with  God,  —  what  an  unspeak 
able  mercy !  the  continued  tokens  of  the  presence  of  the 
Hcl)  Spirit  among  the  people  ;  though  we  have  had  sickness 
in  our  families,  yet  no  one  of  our  public  labors  has  ever  been 
interrupted  from  this  cause,  and  no  one  of  the  male  members 
of  this  mission  has  ever  been  laid  up  by  sickness  ;  during  all 
the  years  we  have  lived  together,  and  amidst  all  the  various 
scenes  through  which  we  have  passed,  there  has  never  been 


296          FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

any  misunderstanding  between  any  of  us,  and  our  harmony 
has  continued  up  to  the  present  time  unbroken.  Harmony 
has  never  been  restored,  because  it  has  never  been  impaired. 
A  great  blessing  this  !  " 

The  missionaries  at  Constantinople,  in  common  with  those 
at  other  stations  in  the  Levant,  were  greatly  cheered,  near 
the  close  of  the  year,  by  a  visit  from  the  Rev.  Rufus  Ander 
son,  D.D.,  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  American  Board, 
who  was  accompanied  by  the  Rev.  Joel  Hawes,  D.D.,  of 
Hartford.  Dr.  Anderson  came  officially,  to  study  the  char 
acter  and  to  see  the  extent  of  the  work  that  was  going  on, 
and  to  consult  with  the  members  of  the  various  missions  in 
regard  to  plans  for  the  future.  Dr.  Hawes,  though  not 
commissioned  by  the  Board,  had  a  similar  errand,  and  his 
presence  and  counsel  were  no  less  acceptable  and  cheering. 
They  spent  several  months  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Medi 
terranean  and  at  Constantinople,  arriving  at  the  capital  on 
the  24th  of  December. 

The  visit  of  this  deputation  was  peculiarly  refreshing  to 
Mr.  Goodell,  who  had  been  personally  intimate  with  Dr. 
Anderson  before  going  to  the  East.  After  the  latter  had 
returned  to  this  country,  Mr.  Goodell  wrote  to  him :  "  It  is 
twenty-two  years  since  we  sailed  from  New  York,  and  dur 
ing  all  this  time  I  can  think  of  but  few  events,  if,  indeed,  of 
any,  for  which,  as  it  appears  to  me,  I  have  greater  cause  for 
gratitude  than  for  your  visit."  A  letter  of  reminiscence, 
addressed  to  Dr.  Anderson  after  his  return  to  the  United 
States,  shows  what  progress  had  been  made  in  the  mission 
work  since  Mr.  Goodell  reached  Constantinople  in  1831,  and 
also  what  prospects  were  opening  before  the  mission :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  March  7,  1844. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  Whenever  I  look  back  to  the 
year  1831,  when  my  own  family  first  arrived  at  Constanti 
nople,  and  contemplate  the  great  and  wonderful  changes 
which  have  taken  place  since  that  period,  I  always  feel  that 
I  am  myself  not  half  awake  to  the  reality  and  importance 


GREAT    CHANGES.  297 

of  that  work  of  grace,  which  God  is  carrying  on  here  with 
such  power.  Then,  not  a  single  European  in  the  place  knew 
fully  how  to  sympathize  with  us ;  nor,  during  a  whole  year, 
was  there,  except  our  Greek  brother,  Mr.  P.,  a  single  na 
tive  found,  whose  heart  seemed  at  all  moved  by  the  Spirit 
of  God.  Then,  all  direct  access  to  the  Armenians  seemed 
closed  against  us  ;  nor  did  it  appear  possible  to  reach  them, 
except  in  a  very  circuitous  way.  We  had,  in  fact,  to  com 
mence  operations  among  the  Greeks,  in  order  thus  to  intro 
duce  ourselves  among  the  Armenians. 

But  God  hath  "  remembered  us  in  our  low  estate ;  for 
His  mercy  endure th  for  ever."  He  hath  helped  us  by  His 
providence,  and  He  hath  helped  us  by  His  Spirit;  and  in 
the  wonderful  turn  things  have  taken,  His  hand  is  most 
clearly  seen.  For  "  He  that  hath  the  key  of  David,  that 
operieth  and  no  man  shutteth,  and  shutteth  and  no  man 
openeth,"  has  fast  closed  the  door  among  the  Greeks  to  the 
amazement  of  everybody ;  while,  among  the  Armenians,  He 
has  "  set  before  us  an  open  door,  which  no  man  has  been 
able  to  shut,"  although  the  very  mightiest  ones  in  the  whole 
empire  have  once  and  again  conspired  together  for  the  ex 
press  purpose  of  closing  it  for  ever. 

Less  than  twenty  years  ago,  the  question  was  asked  by 
some  one  at  Constantinople,  whether  a  Protestant  service, 
except  in  the  palaces  of  the  foreign  legations,  could  be 
held  on  the  Sabbath  in  any  language.  And  the  opinion 
expressed  was,  that  it  would  not  be  tolerated.  But  lo !  a 
few  Protestant  missionaries  have  come ;  and,  without  power 
or  influence,  or  even  permission,  they  have  quietly  seated 
themselves  down  in  the  very  "city  of  the  Sultan,"  under 
the  very  eye  of  high-priests  and  patriarchs,  and  in  the  midst 
of  all  the  grandees  of  the  empire,  and  the  emissaries  of 
Rome ;  and  they  have  opened  chapels  in  their  own  pri'.'ate 
houses,  where  the  Gospel  has  been  preached  without  moles 
tation  in  the  English,  German,  French,  Spanish,  Italian, 
Greek,  Armenian,  and  Turkish  languages.  And  our  right 
to  do  so  will  now  never  be  likely  to  be  questioned.  Those 
times  have  gone  by ;  and  custom  here  has  all  the  force  of 
law.  There  has,  indeed,  been  great  indignation  against  us ; 
but  it  has  been  strangely  impotent.  Kings  and  princes  have 
taken  counsel  together  against  us ;  but  their  "  counsel  has 
been  carried  headlong,"  and  has  come  to  naught.  Bribes, 
the  never-failing  resort  and  the  mighty  engine  of  all  these 
13* 


298          FORTY   YEARS  IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

Oriental  hierarchies,  have  not  been  spared ;  but  "  the  devices 
of  these  crafty  ones  have  been  disappointed,  so  that  their 
hands  could  not  perform  their  enterprise."  And  I  know  of 
no  other  reason  than  this,  that  "  The  Lord  of  Hosts  has  been 
with  us,  and  the  God  of  Jacob  has  been  our  refuge."  From 
Him  cometh  wisdom.  But  He  has  not  given  it  to  the  op- 
posers  of  His  truth  to  carry  out  their  plans ;  or  He  has 
"  destroyed  and  divided  their  tongues ; "  or  He  has  furnished 
them  with  other  and  more  pressing  work  to  do ;  or  in  His 
providence  there  has  been  all  at  once  an  entire  change  in 
the  Turkish  ministry ;  or  the  very  individual,  who  was  en 
trusted  by  them  with  the  execution  of  the  whole  business, 
was  unexpectedly  turned  out  of  office  ;  or  else,  in  their  blind 
ness  and  rage,  they  have  been  left  so  to  transgress  all  bounds 
and  trample  on  all  laws  and  usages,  as  to  leave  us  real  and 
substantial  ground  of  complaint  to  our  country's  representa 
tive,  which  he  could  lay  hold  of,  and  use  with  power  to  our 
advantage.  And  thus  has  the  Lord  "  not  once  nor  twice," 
"  shown  us  His  marvellous  kindness  in  this  strong  city,"  and 
given  us  fresh  occasions  of  encouragement  to  place  all  con 
fidence  in  His  power  and  wisdom,  His  goodness  and  faithful 
ness.  And,  though  we  have  always  "  feared  as  we  entered 
into  the  dark  cloud,"  yet  have  we,  I  trust,  learned  in  some 
measure  the  important  lesson,  that  there  is  after  all  "no 
one  there  save  Jesus  only ;  "  and  that  His  hand,  and  His  alone, 
is  to  be  seen  and  felt  and  acknowledged  everywhere. 

Ten  years  ago,  "  the  strong  man  armed  kept  his  palace 
and  goods  in  peace,"  and  no  one  dared  lisp  a  syllable  against 
the  prevailing  superstitions  and  corruptions  of  the  times. 
"  But  a  stronger  than  he  has  come,"  and  broken  in  upon 
this  death-like  quiet,  and  "  set  a  man  at  variance  against  his 
father,  and  the  daughter  against  her  mother,"  in  all  parts  of 
the  city.  An  individual,  who  came  to  us  some  ten  years 
ago  for  the  express  purpose  of  conversing  on  the  great  things 
of  salvation  and  eternal  life,  and  who  spoke  freely  all  that 
was  in  his  heart,  said,  on  passing  out  of  our  door,  u  On  quit 
ting  your  house,  I  must  close  my  lips,  and  not  suffer  a  word 
on  these  subjects  to  escape  them."  But  now  the  whole  city 
is  filled  with  these  new  doctrines ;  and  they  are  publicly  dis 
cussed  in  the  khans  and  coffee-houses,  and  at  all  the  chief 
places  of  concourse. 

Much  of  the  time,  indeed,  we  have  ourselves  been  scarcely 
able  to  walk  round  this  great  "  valley  of  dry  bones  "  in  an 


RECALL    OF    MR.    TEMPLE.  299 

open  and  public  manner,  or  to  prophesy  to  them  except  in  a 
whisper,  or  to  only  one  at  a  time ;  and  yet,  from  our  retired 
corners  we  have  heard  "  a  noise  and  a  shaking  "  among  these 
"  dry  bones ; "  and,  in  regard  to  not  a  few  of  them,  we  have 
the  most  consoling  evidence  that  "  the  Spirit  of  life  from 
God  has  entered  into  them."  The  voice  of  the  Son  of  God 
has  broken  the  slumbers  of  death,  and  they  live.  They 
have  been  breathed  upon  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  they  have 
"  become  living  souls."  And  these  may  now  be  seen  every 
day  walking  abroad  in  the  streets  of  this  great  city,  living, 
breathing  men ;  men  who,  like  all  those  that  have  been 
quickened  and  made  alive,  and  that  will  live  for  ever,  are 
calling  on  every  side  to  their  neighbors  and  kindred,  "  Awake, 
thou  that  sleepest,  and  arise  from  the  dead,  and  Christ  shall 
give  thee  light."  There  is  certainly  a  great  deal  of  life  and 
activity  among  them.  Look  abroad  in  almost  any  direction, 
and  you  will  see  some  Andrew  bringing  his  brother  Simon 
to  Christ;  or  some  Philip  persuading  his  friend  Nathanael 
to  come ;  or,  peradventure,  over  the  very  house-tops,  and 
"  through  the  tiling,"  and  greatest  difficulties,  you  will  see 
"  one  sick  of  the  palsy,"  who  is  "  borne  of  four."  Blessed 
sight !  who  would  not  be  a  missionary  to  see  such  "  visions 
bright "  ?  But  truly  u  this  is  the  Lord's  doing ;  it  is  marvel 
lous  In  our  eyes." 

I  close  this  communication  with  a  remark,  which  I  recently 
made  to  our  native  brethren,  whom,  as  you  know,.  I  am 
accustomed  to  meet  alone  by  themselves  every  Tuesday 
morning,  "  If  this  work  of  God  go  forward  in  the  same 
proportion  for  ten  years  to  come,  as  it  has  gone  for  ten  years 
past,  there  will  be  no  further  occasion  for  any  of  us  to  remain 
here,  unless  it  be  to  assist  you  in  bringing  to  a  knowledge 
of  these  same  precious  saving  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  the 
Greeks  and  Jews  and  others  around  you." 

But,  dear  brother,  reverses  are  to  be  expected.  And  may 
you  and  we,  and  the  churches  at  home,  and  all  concerned, 
be  prepared  for  them. 

Yours  most  truly, 

W.    GOODELL. 

In  the  spring  of  1844  Mr.  Goodell  experienced  a  great 
trial  in  the  recall  of  his  beloved  friend  and  brother,  Rev. 
Daniel  Temple,  with  whom  he  had  been  on  terms  of  inti 
mate  fellowship  almost  from  boyhood.  They  had  occupied 


800          FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

the  same  room  in  the  academy,  in  college,  and  in  the  Theo 
logical  Seminary  for  the  space  of  nine  years,  and  although 
separated  in  their  missionary  life  in  the  East,  Mr.  Temple 
being  stationed  at  Smyrna,  they  had  exchanged  letters  and 
interchanged  their  most  sacred  sentiments  every  week  since 
coming  to  the  Orient.  The  trial  was  the  more  severe  be 
cause  the  giving  up  of  the  missionary  work  was  so  painful  to 
Mr.  Temple.  One  of  the  results  of  the  visit  of  Dr.  Ander 
son  to  the  East  was  the  discontinuance  of  the  mission  to  the 
Greeks,  for  whom  Mr.  Temple  had  been  exclusively  labor 
ing  ;  and  as  the  Board  concurred  with  him  in  the  opinion 
that  he  was  too  far  advanced  in  years  to  commence  the 
acquisition  of  a  new  language  and  enter  upon  an  entirely 
new  mission,  he  reluctantly  decided  to  return  to  the  United 
States.  Before  he  left,  Mr.  Goodell  wrote  to  him  :  — 

"  We  all  sympathize  with  you  deeply  in  your  being  called 
to  give  up  your  work  and  return  to  the  land  of  your  fathers. 
It  seems  to  me  that  such  a  blow  would  well-nigh  kill  me. 
But  it  is  true,  for  the  word  of  God  declares  it,  '  As  thy 
days  so  shall  thy  strength  be.'  And  the  question  is  not, 
what  is  painful  ?  but,  what  is  duty  ?  Fear  not ;  your  poor 
ship  will  mid  a  safe  harbor  at  last." 

After  his  return,  Mr.  Goodell  wrote  to  him  in  his  usual 
strain :  — 

"  By  the  way,  I  see  one  of  the  papers  calls  you  Dr. 
but  whether  it  was  tormenting  you  before  the  time,  or 
whether  you  are  actually  a  D.D.,  I  do  not  know.  At  any 
rate,  I  have  no  doubt  you  are  the  same  Daniel  Temple, 
whatever  affixes  or  prefixes,  augments  or  increments,  you 
may  have  to  your  name.  If  it  would  but  cure  you  of  the 
awful  habit  which  your  dear  wife  complains  you  are  guilty 
of,  viz.,  of  being  advanced  in  years  beyond  the  wishes  of 
most  parishes,  perhaps  you  would  no  more  object  to  the  title 
than  to  any  other  bitter  medicine." 

At  the  same  time  with  the  departure  of  his  friend  Mr. 
Temple,  a  more  severe  trial  was  laid  upon  the  family  of  Mr. 


DEPARTURE    OF   DAUGHTERS.  801 

Goodell.  This  was  the  separation  from  his  household,  of  his 
two  eldest  daughters,  who  came  to  the  United  States  to  enjoy 
advantages  of  education  which  could  not  be  had  in  the  lauds 
of  the  East.  From  an  extensive  and  intimate  acquaintance 
with  missionary  families  in  different  parts  of  the  world,  the 
opinion  is  confidently  expressed  that,  as  a  class,  no  children 
are  more  accurately  and  thoroughly  educated  than  the  chi»- 
dren  of  missionaries;  but,  at  the  same  time,  it  is  often  a 
matter  of  great  importance,  if  not  a  necessity,  that  they 
should  have  some  measure  of  training  in  the  midst  of  a 
Christian  community,  in  order  to  become  better  fitted  for 
their  work  in  life,  wherever  their  future  lots  may  be  cast. 
After  long  and  prayerful  deliberation,  it  was  decided  by  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Goodell  to  send  their  daughters  to  America,  in 
company  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Temple.  A  brief  extract  from 
the  father's  journal  depicts  a  scene  of  heart-breaking  sadness, 
which  has  had  its  counterpart  in  hundreds,  if  not  thousands, 
of  families  in  the  far -distant  fields  of  missionary  life  :  — 

"  May  23.  Our  beloved  daughters  left  us  yesterday. 
My  last  prayer  with  them  was  with  tears  and  sighs.  Our 
parting  was  a  silent  one,  —  an  affectionate  embrace,  but  not 
a  word  spoken  on  either  side.  We  gave  them  up  to  our 
Father.  May  He  be  their  Father,  and  they  His  children. 
Our  other  children  at  night  wept  themselves  to  sleep.  No 
one  could  read ;  no  one  could  sing  at  our  worship  this  morn 
ing.  May  the  Lord  comfort  all  our  hearts." 

An  incident  that  occurred  about  two  years  later  may  bo 
mentioned  most  appropriately  in  this  connection.  At  various 
intervals,  and  for  long  periods,  the  missionaries  in  Turkey 
lived  in  great  apprehension  of  personal  danger,  owing  to  the 
violent  hostility  awakened  by  their  presence  and  their  teach 
ings.  Not  only  did  they  sympathize  with  the  native  Chris 
tians  in  the  persecution  they  endured ;  they  had  a  share  in  it 
themselves.  Against  open  violence  they  were  protected  by 
their  nationality,  but  often  did  they  have  reason  to  fear  se 
cret  assaults  instigated  by  Moslem  fanaticism,  Armenian  and 


302          FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE    TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

Greek  bigotry,  and  Jesuitical  intrigue.  The  compiler  of 
these  Memoirs  has,  in  his  own  private  correspondence  with 
the  missionaries  in  Turkey,  and  especially  at  Constantinople, 
the  evidence  that  they  often  lay  down  at  night  under  the 
apprehension  that,  by  insurrection,  or  the  secret  hand  of  vio 
lence,  they  might  be  called  to  end  their  labors  and  their  lives 
before  the  dawn  of  another  day. 

Just  at  the  time  referred  to,  Mr.  Goodell  had  received 
special  intimations  of  personal  danger,  when  one  evening,  as 
he  returned  home  from  a  meeting,  there  was  handed  him  a 
strange-looking  package,  addressed  to  him,  and  marked, 
"  Favored  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Beshiktash."  It  had  been  left 
at  the  house  by  a  stranger.  What  it  could  contain,  or  who 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Beshiktash  might  be,  no  one  was  able  to  divine. 
The  circumstances  all  had  an  air  of  mystery,  and  a  slight 
examination  of  the  package  made  the  aifair  appear  still  more 
suspicious.  Thoughts  of  the  Patriarch  and  his  people,  and 
of  other  agents  of  evil,  passed  through  the  mind  of  Mr. 
Goodell ;  and  the  mere  imagination  that  it  might  be  some 
infernal  machine  induced  him  to  lay  it  carefully  aside  until 
the  family  should  have  retired  for  the  night,  in  order  that 
he  might  open  it  without  exposing  any  member  of  his  house 
hold  but  himself. 

Accordingly,  when  all  had  retired,  he  took  the  mysterious 
box  to  his  study,  and,  before  proceeding  to  open  it,  kneeled 
and  commended  himself,  his  household,  and  the  mission,  to 
the  care  of  the  covenant  God.  With  trembling  hands  he 
then  removed  one  envelope  after  another  in  a  long  succes 
sion,  until  he  reached  and  removed  the  last ;  when  his  eyes 
fell,  not  upon  a  deadly  weapon,  but  upon  the  faces  of  his 
beloved  daughters,  who  were  far  over  the  seas.  They  had 
chosen  this  method  of  forwarding  from  the  United  States 
their  daguerreotypes,  as  a  surprise  to  those  at  home,  sending 
the  package  by  the  hand  of  the  captain  of  a  ship,  with  an 
injunction  that  it  should  be  delivered  without  any  intimation 
of  what  it  contained,  or  of  the  source  from  which  it  came. 


FRESH    PERSECUTION.  303 

The  father's  tears  of  love  and  thankfulness  fell  thick  upon 
the  familiar  faces,  and  the  whole  family  were  immediately 
aroused  to  share  in  his  joy. 

During  the  latter  part  of  1844  and  the  following  year, 
the  fierceness  of  actual  persecution  on  the  part  of  the  Ar 
menian  ecclesiastics  was  stayed,  but  their  hostility  toward  all 
who  manifested  any  tendency  to  evangelical  principles  was 
not  in  the  least  abated.  They  took  another  method  of  ex 
pressing  it,  described  by  Mr.  Goodell,  under  date  of  Oct.  27, 
1844:- 

"  All  fiery  persecution  has  now  ceased.  The  policy  of  the 
present  patriarch  is  more  in  accordance  with  civilized  usage. 
The  aim  is  to  wear  out  the  patience  of  the  brethren,  by  de 
priving  them  of  business  in  the  most  quiet  and  effectual  way 
possible,  and  thus  to  reduce  them  to  subjection  by  reducing 
them  to  poverty  in  a  more  genteel  way  than  by  prison  and 
exile.  This  is  really,  as  our  brethren  confess,  harder  to 
bear,  because  it  does  not,  on  the  one  hand,  rouse  up  the  mind 
of  the  sufferer  to  such  a  spirit  of  determination,  nor,  on  the 
other,  does  it  secure  so  much  sympathy  from  others.  But, 
to  the  praise  of  God's  grace  be  it  spoken,  they  all  hold  on 
their  way,  and  the  Lord  is  adding  to  them  continually  of 
such  as  shall  be  saved.  The  papists  are  still  popping  away 
at  us  with  missiles  drawn  from  the  "  Missionary  Herald,"  but 
nobody  seems  now  to  care  any  thing  about  it.  In  fact,  I 
have  heard  of  no  one  being  shot,  or  even  wounded. 

"All  our  various  meetings  have  continued  to  the  present 
time,  and  the  interest  in  them  appears  unabated.  The  breth 
ren  still  *  have  life,'  as  formerly,  and  even,  we  believe,  '  have 
it  more  abundantly.'  Among  others,  however,  there  is  not 
at  present  so  much  of  'a  noise'  and  'a  shaking,'  with  so 
many  signs  of  coming  to  life,  as  we  have  witnessed  in  times 
past,  and  a?  we  now  hear  of  in  the  interior.  Some  sixteen 
villages  in  the  vicinity  of  Broosa  have  been  recently  reported 
to  us,  in  each  of  which  the  Holy  Spirit  is  breathing  upon  a 
few  individuals,  making  them  living  men.  They  are  waking 
up  to  a  life  and  happiness  which  belong  exclusively  to  the 
children  of  light  and  the  children  of  the  day." 

The  spirit  of  the  one  who  is  the  subject  of  these  Memoirs 
has  been  abundantly  indicated  in  the  extracts  that  have  been 


304          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

made  from  the  most  familiar  and  unrestrained  expressions 
of  his  heart,  as  that  of  one  who  had  an  almost  singular  sim 
plicity  of  purpose  to  live  for  nothing  but  the  advancement 
of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  and  the  glory  of  His  name.  One 
secret  of  this  singleness  of  heart,  or  one  form  of  its  expres 
sion,  was,  that  he  seemed  always  to  feel  and  to  act  as  if  he 
were  in  the  immediate  presence  of  Christ,  and  living  under  His 
personal  reign.  The  kingdom  of  Christ  was  to  him  a  reality, 
and  the  ground  of  his  confidence,  especially  in  regard  to  the 
success  of  the  work  in  which  he  was  engaged.  This  is  ex 
pressed  in  an  extract  from  his  journal,  bearing  date  Jan.  31, 
1845 . — 

"  There  is  now  a  very  interesting  state  of  things  among 
the  Armenians  at  the  capital,  and  many  new  instances  of 
awakening.  At  the  monthly  concert  this  week  it  was  stated 
that  there  was  probably  not  an  evening  in  the  week  in  which 
there  was  not  a  prayer-meeting  held  by  the  native  brethren 
at  some  place  in  Constantinople  proper,  for  the  outpouring 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  At  our  public  services  on  the  Sabbath 
the  congregation  is  large,  and  the  word  is  with  power ;  and 
although  all  the  ingenuity  and  wisdom  and  influence  of  the 
very  mightiest  ones  among  both  Armenians  and  Turks  are 
most  actively  employed  from  day  to  day  to  arrest  the  work, 
yet  it  is  carried  forward  by  a  hand  unseen,  and  a  power  not 
to  be  resisted.  And  who  can  stop  the  progress  of  that  which 
is  invisible,  and  '  corneth  not  with  observation  '  ?  Who  can 
banish  or  confine  or  prohibit  that  which  is  spiritual,  and 
which  can,  of  course,  be  touched  by  nothing  material  ?  The 
kingdom  of  Christ  knows  nothing  of  territorial  divisions  and 
geographical  lines,  and  our  brethren  here  may  take  all  their 
meals,  make  all  their  visits,  perform  all  their  journeys,  and 
transact  all  their  business  in  this  blessed  kingdom,  however 
despotic  their  own  temporal  government  may  be.  They  may 
live  in  it  every  day,  and  sleep  in  it  every  night;  arid  no 
power  on  earth  can  forcibly  carry  them  out  of  it.  They  can 
have  daily  access  to  the  great  King  himself,  and  lay  their 
petitions  at  his  feet ;  and  no  police  that  ever  existed,  how 
ever  terrible  its  character,  could  ever  find  means  to  prevent 
it.  And  the  progress  of  this  kingdom  is  itself  like  the  silent 
stealing  of  light  on  darkness,  which  none  of  the  potentates 
of  earth  can  interrupt." 


305 

In  October,  1845,  in  order  to  exert  a  more  decided  influence 
upon  that  part  of  the  population  which  in  all  Oriental  lands 
is  most  difficult  of  access.,  a  female  boarding-school  was 
opened  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Goodell,  and  eight  Armenian 
young  ladies  were  received  into  his  family.  Mrs.  Goodell 
had  previously  made  herself  familiar  with  the  Italian  lan 
guage,  which  was  chiefly  spoken  at  Malta;  with  the  Arabic, 
which  she  had  made  use  of  at  Beyrout ;  and  with  the  Greek, 
which  was  extensively  spoken  at  Constantinople.  But  to 
qualify  herself  for  usefulness  in  this  new  charge,  she  now 
commenced  the  study  of  the  Armenian.  Her  health,  which 
for  many  years  had  been  feeble,  was  quite  established,  and, 
with  the  new  responsibilities  which  she  assumed,  it  was 
like  entering  afresh  upon  missionary  life  and  service. 

The  catalogue  of  the  school,  in  the  handwriting  of  Mr. 
Goodell,  is  a  curiosity.  The  history  of  each  scholar  is 
recorded,  and,  with  the  name,  its  signification.  Names  in 
the  East  are  more  significant  than  with  us ;  whether  the 
name  is  always  appropriately  bestowed  is  another  matter. 
The  first  on  the  list  of  the  school  is  Armaveni,  which  signi 
fies  Palm-tree.  She  was  a  young  lady  about  twenty  years 
of  age  when  she  entered  the  school.  She  afterward  became 
the  wife  of  the  evangelical  pastor  at  Trebizond,  where  she 
flourished  literally  like  the  palm-tree,  living  a  life  of  great 
usefulness.  Another  bore  the  name  of  Soorpoohi  (Holi 
ness).  Another,  Aroosiag  (Morning  Star).  She  has  since 
been  very  useful  as  a  teacher  among  the  Armenians.  Still 
another  was  Sophik  (  Wisdom).  She  became  the  wife  of 
an  Armenian  bearing  the  name  of  Avedis  (Glad  Tidings), 
who  has  been  a  Christian  pastor  at  Constantinople.  This 
school,  as  will  hereafter  appear,  enjoyed  to  a  remarkable 
degree  the  blessing  of  God  in  the  presence  and  gracious 
influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  it  was  a  nursery  in  which 
many  precious  youth  were  trained  up  for  lives  of  useful 
ness. 

Miss  Harriet  M.  Lovell,  who  afterward  became  the  wife 


306          FORTY   YEARS   IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

of  Mr.  Hamlin,  joined  the  mission  at  this  time,  taking  the 
principal  charge  of  the  school,  and  finding  also  a  home  with 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Goodell.  Her  correspondence,  which  may 
be  seen  in  the  memoirs  of  "  The  Missionary  Sisters  "  (Mrs. 
Everett  and  Mrs.  Hamlin),  is  filled  with  expressions  of  her 
great  happiness  in  finding  in  a  distant  land,  among  those 
who  had  been  strangers  to  her,  a  circle  of  devoted  and 
beloved  friends,  and  in  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Goodell  a  father  and 
mother,  to  whom  she  became  tenderly  attached. 

To  Rev.  E.  E.  Bliss,  at  Trebizond,  he  wrote,  in  reply  to  a 
letter  asking  advice :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  June  2,  1845. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER, — What  persecution  your  friends 
suffer  from  their  own  neighbors  and  families  cannot  be  helped. 
Many  of  our  friends  suffer  the  same  here,  and  have  for  years. 
Some  of  them  for  a  long  time  have  been  excluded  from  the 
paternal  roof ;  but  this  kind  of  persecution  is  suffered  at  the 
present  day  in  France,  England,  and  even  in  America ;  and 
no  law  can  prevent  it.  So  your  bishop  can  excommunicate 
as  much  as  he  pleases,  and  nobody  out  of  his  church  has  a 
right  to  interfere.  But  if  he  makes  use  of  the  civil  arm,  if 
he  throws  into  prison,  sends  into  exile,  or  uses  the  bastinado, 
then  there  is  ground  for  interference.  If  your  people  would 
be  saved,  they  must  endure  to  the  end.  If  they  are  unwill 
ing  to  suffer  with  Christ,  they  are  unworthy  of  Him.  But 
this,  by  the  way,  teaches  us  the  importance  of  not  encourag 
ing  any  to  oppose  their  bishop,  or  to  take  any  strong  stand 
against  the  errors  of  their  church,  till  we  have  good  reason 
to  believe  that  they  are  the  Lord's  people,  and  have  a  good 
deal  of  faith  ;  for  otherwise,  it  is  very  certain  they  will  not 
stand  in  the  day  of  trial. 

If  the  bishop  goes  on  excommunicating  and  casting  out 
of  the  church  those  who  have  received  the  Gospel,  alter  we 
have  suffered  patiently  long  enough,  we  shall  be  fully  justi 
fied,  in  the  view  of  the  whole  world,  in  gathering  them  into 
a  congregation  by  themselves.  But  it  is  well  to  have  on 
hand  a  good  many  cases  of  our  great  forbearance  in  order 
to  justify  this  step,  showing  that  we  were  not  over-greedy 
for  it,  snatching  at  the  first  opportunity,  but  were  literally 
forced  into  it. 

Your  brother, 

W.  GOODELL. 


ANATHEMA.  307 

The  year  1846  opened  with  marked  spiritual  prosperity, 
but  it  ushered  in  the  most  severe  persecution  which  the  Ar 
menian  converts  were  ever  called  to  endure.  The  Gospel 
was  so  evidently  making  progress  among  the  people,  and  was 
so  plainly  in  conflict  with  the  dead  formalism  and  idolatry 
which  prevailed  in  the  ancient  church  of  the  Armenians ; 
the  teachings  of  the  missionaries,  and  of  the  converts  who 
had  become  preachers  of  Christ  to  their  own  nation,  were  so 
decided  a  rebuke  to  the  ecclesiastics  of  all  grades,  from  the 
patriarch  down  to  the  humblest  priest,  whose  lives  and  min 
istrations  were  utterly  opposed  to  the  spirit  arid  the  letter  of 
the  word  of  God,  that  their  hostility  could  not  longer  be 
restrained ;  and  having  the  power,  as  they  supposed,  to 
suppress  the  new  religion,  they  determined  to  attempt  it 
once  more. 

Accordingly,  on  the  last  Sabbath  in  January,  "  the  lord 
archbishop  and  patriarch  of  the  great  metropolitan  city  of 
Constantinople  "  issued  his  anathema,  which  was  ordered  to 
be  read  in  all  the  churches  on  that  day,  excommunicating  an 
evangelical  priest,  Vertanes,  and  consigning  him  over  to 
Satan  as  an  enemy  of  all  righteousness.  He  was  described 
as  "  a  vagabond  fellow,  going  about  through  the  metropolis 
babbling  out  errors ;  an  enemy  to  the  holy  church,  a  divider 
of  the  members,  a  cause  of  scandal,  and  a  seducer  of  the 
people;  a  traitor  and  murderer  of  Christ,  a  child  of  the 
devil,  and  offspring  of  antichrist,"  &c.  The  bull  of  excom 
munication  continued:  — 

"  Wherefore  we  expel  him,  and  forbid  him,  as  a  devil  and 
a  child  of  the  devil,  to  enter  into  the  company  of  our  believ 
ers  ;  we  cut  him  off  from  the  priesthood  as  an  amputated 
member  of  the  spiritual  body  of  Christ,  and  as  a  branch  cut 
off  from  the  vine,  which  is  good  for  nothing  but  to  be  cast 
into  the  fire.  By  this  admonitory  bull  I  therefore  command 
and  warn  my  beloved  in  every  city  far  and  near  not  to  look 
upon  his  face,  regarding  it  as  the  face  of  Belial ;  not  to  re 
ceive  him  into  your  holy  dwellings,  for  he  is  a  house-destroy 
ing  and  ravening  wolf ;  not  to  receive  his  salutation  but  as  a 


308  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

soul-destroying  and  deadly  poison;  and  to  beware  with  all 
your  households  of  the  seducing  and  impious  followers  of 
the  false  doctrine  of  modern  sectarists,"  &c. 

This  anathema  was  nominally  aimed  at  only  one  who  had 
renounced  the  errors  of  the  Armenian  Church  and  embraced 
the  truth  of  the  Gospel,  but  it  was  intended  as  a  warning  to 
all  who  gave  heed  to  the  teachings  of  the  missionaries.  Its 
proclamation  at  once  stirred  up  the  fiercest  bigotry  and  hatred 
on  the  part  of  the  Armenian  clergy,  who  entered  immediately 
upon  a  crusade  against  their  evangelical  brethren.  Their 
pulpits  resounded  with  denunciations  of  the  most  precious 
truths  of  the  Gospel,  and  of  all  who  gave  an  ear  to  them. 
The  patriarch  no  longer  had  power  to  imprison  and  other 
wise  punish  with  civil  pains  and  penalties,  but  he  made  the 
most  of  his  ecclesiastical  power  by  inflicting  church  censures 
and  exciting  the  people  to  visit  with  social  martyrdom  all 
who  gave  countenance  to  the  missionaries  or  followed  their 
instructions.  A  second  anathema  against  Vertanes  was 
promulgated,  including  with  him  all  who  were  of  like  sen 
timent  :  — 

"  Wherefore,  whoever  has  a  son  that  is  such  an  one,  or  a 
brother,  or  a  partner  in  business,  and  gives  him  bread,  or 
assists  him  in  making  money,  or  has  intercourse  with  him  as 
a  friend,  or  does  business  with  him,  let  such  persons  know 
that  they  are  nourishing  a  venomous  serpent  in  their  houses, 
which  will  one  day  injure  them  with  its  deadly  poison,  and 
they  will  lose  their  souls.  Such  persons  give  bread  to  Judas. 
Such  persons  are  enemies  to  the  holy  faith  of  Christianity,  and 
destroyers  of  the  holy  orthodox  church  of  the  Armenians, 
and  a  disgrace  to  the  whole  nation.  Wherefore,  their  houses 
and  shops  also  are  accursed ;  and  whoever  goes  to  visit  them, 
we  shall  learn  and  make  them  public  to  the  holy  church  by 
terrible  anathemas." 

Nothing  more  was  wanting  to  arouse  the  bigoted  Armeni 
ans  to  a  fierce  social  persecution  of  their  brethren.  Per 
suasion  having  failed  to  bring  the  converts  back  to  the 
ancient  formalism  of  the  church,  they  assailed  them  with 


GREAT   DISTRESS.  309 

bitter  hostility.  They  broke  up  their  business  ;  they  refused 
them  employment ;  they  drove  them  to  the  verge  of  starva 
tion,  and  would  fain  have  starved  them  literally  ;  they  stoned 
them  in  the  streets ;  they  brought  against  them  charges  of 
debt  and  had  them  cast  into  prison,  while  their  families  were 
in  distress  and  want.  The  words  of  the  Saviour  were  often 
verified :  "  A  man's  foes  shall  be  they  of  his  own  household." 
Brother  was  arrayed  against  brother,  father  against  son,  and 
even  tender  mothers  cast  off  their  own  daughters,  and  hus 
bands  became  the  persecutors  of  their  wives,  and  wives  of 
their  husbands.  Bigotry  overcame  all  natural  affection. 

"  Nearly  forty  persons  in  Constantinople,"  wrote  one  of 
the  missionaries,  "  had  their  shops  closed  arid  their  licenses 
to  trade  taken  away,  and  were  thereby  prevented  from  labor 
ing  for  an  honest  livelihood.  Nearly  seventy  were  obliged 
to  leave  father,  mother,  brother,  sister,  husband,  wife,  or  child, 
for  Christ's  sake,  and  were  forced  by  the  patriarch's  orders 
from  their  own  hired  houses,  and  sometimes  even  from  houses 
owned  by  themselves.  In  order  to  increase  their  distress, 
bakers  were  ordered  not  to  furnish  them  with  bread,  and 
water-carriers  to  cut  off  their  supply.  As  multitudes  of  fam 
ilies  in  the  metropolis  depend  entirely  upon  the  latter  for  all 
the  water  they  use,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  water-carriers 
are  bigoted  Armenians,  this  measure  operated  with  great 
severity." 

In  a  letter  written  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  near  the 
commencement  of  the  following  year,  Mr.  Goodell  describes 
the  severity  and  the  continuance  of  this  persecution :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  Feb.  27,  1846. 
To  the  Rev.   Dr.  ANDERSON,   Cor.   Sec.  A.  B.  C.  F.  M., 

Boston  : 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  You  will  have  heard  of  the  wrath 
of  the  enemy,  and  of  the  desperate  efforts  made  to  "  swallow 
up  the  inheritance  of  the  Lord."  The  aspect  of  the  two 
parties  was,  and  is  still,  one  of  great  moral  sublimity.  On 
the  one  side  were  all  the  power,  influence,  wealth,  and  num 
bers  of  a  great  nation;  on  the  other,  fewness,  feebleness, 


310  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

and  poverty.  On  the  one  side  were  age,  wisdom,  expe 
rience,  cunning,  craft,  and  dissimulation ;  on  the  other, 
youth,  inexperience,  and  utter  simplicity.  On  the  one  side 
stood  up  the  whole  Armenian  hierarchy,  excited  to  the 
utmost  pitch  of  hate  and  fury,  and  armed  with  all  the 
sacredness  of  antiquity,  with  all  the  authority  of  the  entire 
nation,  and  with  all  the  panoply  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
despotism  ;  on  the  other  was  neither  Urim  nor  Thummim, 
neither  tabernacle  nor  ark,  neither  priesthood  nor  church ; 
nothing  sacred,  nothing  venerable,  nothing  to  inspire  ter 
ror,  nothing  to  attract  notice,  nothing  outward  to  encour 
age  the  least  hope  of  success.  On  the  one  side  were 
falsehood  and  cursing  and  blasphemy ;  the  thunders  of 
anathemas,  the  threatenings  of  annihilation,  the  cutting  off 
of  bread  and  water,  the  driving  out  of  families  and  indi 
viduals  from  their  inheritance  and  their  homes,  from  their 
shops  and  their  business ;  the  wresting  by  force  from  them 
of  their  necessary  protective  papers,  and  thus  the  exposing  of 
them,  without  the  possibility  of  redress,  to  all  the  insults  and 
frauds  of  the  most  unprincipled  and  villanous  of  "  the  baser 
sort,"  and  consigning  them  to  a  filthy  Turkish  prison,  where 
some  of  them  are  now  lying. 

On  the  other  side  sat  patience  and  meekness,  peace  and 
truth.  There  was  serenity  of  countenance,  and  there  was 
joy  in  tribulation.  There  was  the  voice  of  prayer  and 
praise.  The  New  Testament  was  in  their  hands,  and  all  its 
blessed  promises  were  in  their  hearts.  There  was  no  haste, 
no  perturbation.  They  wrote  a  very  appropriate  and  manly 
letter  to  their  patriarch,  making  fully  known  their  faith  ; 
and,  when  their  letter  was  not  received  by  him,  they  sent 
copies  of  it  to  all  "  the  mighty  men,"  and  they  have  since 
lithographed  it,  and  scattered  it  through  the  nation.  They 
sent  to  the  Sublime  Porte,  to  give  notice  of  their  situation,  a 
document  drawn  up  with  so  much  care  and  judgment  as  to 
secure  the  immediate  attention  of  the  whole  Turkish  divan> 
and  to  command  the  admiration  of  some  of  the  very  ablest 
diplomatists  in  the  political  world.  To  individuals  known  to 
be  friendly,  to  this  and  that  priest  or  vartabed,  they  wrote 
a  long  letter,  calling  upon  them  either  to  stand  up  in  their 
own  church  and  protest  against  the  superstitions  and  wicked 
ness  of  the  times,  or  else  to  leave  at  once,  and  take  their 
open  stand  with  the  persecuted  friends  of  truth,  choosing 
rather  to  suffer  affliction  with  them  than  enjoy  all  the  pleas- 


DAYS   OP   DARKNESS.  311 

tires  of  sin  and  the  honors  of  the  world,  with  the  divine 
indignation  resting  upon  them.  They  had  days  of  public 
fasting  and  prayer,  and  the  spectacle  was  an  affecting  one. 
Their  songs  of  praise  from  the  whole  congregation  went  up 
like  the  sound  of  many  waters,  and  reminded  me  of  the  sing 
ing  of  the  ancient  Bohemian  brethren  amidst  the  raging 
fires  of  persecution.  And,  indeed,  to  see  them  stand  from 
day  to  day  with  such  firmness  on  the  Rock  of  eternal  ages, 
unmoved  and  undismayed  ;  to  see  them  manifest  such  un 
shaken  confidence  in  the  power  and  wisdom  and  faithfulness 
of  Christ ;  to  see  them  take  joyfully  the  spoiling  of  their 
goods,  knowing  that  they  have  in  heaven  a  better  and  an 
enduring  substance  ;  to  see  them  called  up,  one  after  another, 
from  time  to  time,  even  women  and  children,  and  going  alone, 
single-handed,  cheerfully  and  fearlessly,  into  the  presence  of 
the  greatest  and  craftiest  of  their  enemies,  and  there  witness 
ing  a  good  confession,  to  the  utter  confusion  of  their  inquisi 
tors,  —  was  a  spectacle  for  angels  and  for  men. 

Thus  far  I  have  used  the  imperfect  tense,  and  said  "  was" 
but  I  now  use  the  present,  and  say  "  is  ;  "  for  the  end  is  not 
yet.  On  the  contrary,  the  night  is  every  moment  growing 
darker  and  darker,  and  the  storm  is  raging  more  and  more 
furiously,  arid  there  is  not  a  single  gleam  of  hope  to  be  seen 
from  any  quarter  of  the  horizon.  Kvery  outward  ray  is 
now  entirely  extinguished;  and  those  who  have  not  eyes  to 
see  far  enough  to  discern  the  u  rainbow  round  about  the 
throne  "  must  remain  in  utter  darkness.  In  short,  the  com 
bination  of  all  nations  and  kindreds  and  tongues  against  the 
truth  is  so  formidable,  nothing  now  remains  for  its  friends  to 
hold  on  to  but  the  power  and  faithfulness  of  Christ.  With 
Him  all  is  light,  all  is  plain  ;  "  all  things  are  possible"  Here 
may  our  persecuted  brethren  continue  to  cling  with  both 
hands  !  And  will  not  all  the  beloved  churches  at  home,  if 
they  have  never  done  it  before,  for  once  try  the  full  efficacy 
of  prayer  in  their  behalf  ?  I  have  myself  for  several  days 
been  holding  on  to  Judges  xiii.  23 ;  for  surely,  if  the  Lord 
were  pleased  to  kill  us,  would  He  have  sent  here  His  word, 
His  Spirit,  and  His  converting  grace,  and  shown  us  so  much 
of  His  love  and  mercy  in  quickening  the  dead  in  sin  ? 
Your  brother  in  the  Lord, 

W.  GOODELL. 

They  who  had  been  the  honored  instruments  in  the  hands 


312  FORTY    TEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

of  God  of  effecting  that  religious  reformation  which  had 
brought  about  this  persecution  were  not  left  without  the  evi 
dence  that  God  smiled  upon  them  and  upon  their  work. 
In  regard  to  the  school  that  had  been  opened  at  the  house 
of  Mr.  Goodell,  he  wrote  a  few  days  later :  — 

"March  4.  Our  female  boarding-school,  instead  of  being 
scattered  to  the  four  winds  by  this  tempest,  has  been  in 
creased.  The  parents  of  two  of  the  girls  were  so  hard 
pressed  by  the  patriarch  that  they  took  them  from  the 
school ;  but  they  left  their  beds  and  books  as  a  pledge  of 
their  return  as  soon  as  the  indignation  should  be  overpast. 
In  the  mean  time  four  new  ones  have  joined  the  seminary, 
so  that,  instead  of  eight,  which  was  as  large  a  number  as  we 
thought  we  could  possibly  take,  we  now  have  ten,  and  when 
the  absent  girls  return  we  shall  have  twelve.  At  the  com 
mencement  of  the  storm  the  little  girls  manifested  much  fear, 
and  some  of  them  wept  lest  their  parents  should  not  remain 
firm.  But  as  they  heard  from  time  to  time  of  the  excom 
munication  of  their  parents  and  guardians,  their  fears  were 
hushed,  and  they  '  shouted  aloud  for  joy.'  It  was  exceed 
ingly  interesting  to  see  how  all  the  sympathies  of  their  little 
hearts  were  enlisted  on  the  side  of  *  grace  and  truth.' 
Many,  I  doubt  not,  have  been  the  prayers  that  have  gone 
up  from  day  to  day,  '  out  of  the  mouth  of  these  babes  and 
sucklings  ; '  and  prayer,  by  whomsoever  offered,  *  moves  the 
hand  that  moves  the  world.'  One  of  the  eldest  was  pub 
licly  excommunicated  and  cursed  by  name  last  Sabbath. 
On  my  informing  her  of  it,  she  remarked  in  her  own  quiet 
way,  '  I  have  not  been  of  that  church  for  a  long  time.  Let 
them  curse,  if  God  do  but  bless.'  One  of  those  in  prison  is 
her  brother. 

"March  17.  The  persecution  continues  with  great  sever 
ity,  and  we  are  brought  very  low.  Three  successive  Fri 
days  have  been  observed  by  us  with  our  Armenian  brethren 
as  days  of  public  fasting,  humiliation,  and  prayer,  and  from 
little  circles  here  and  there  prayer  is  offered  continually. 
But  the  work  of  desolation  has  been  dreadful,  and  hundreds, 
including  their  families,  are  in  a  suffering  condition.  Many 
are  driven  from  their  homes,  and  denied  a  shelter  or  a  drop 
of  water  from  any  sect ;  refused  a  place  to  live  in,  a  place 
to  die  in,  or  a  place  to  be  buried  in ;  unable  to  flee  to  a 
mountain  or  a  cave  for  want  of  a  passport ;  unable  to  work, 


SYMPATHY   EXPRESSED.  313 

for  whoever  employs  them  shares  their  fate  ;  thrown  into 
the  filthiest  prisons  for  want  of  security,  and  whoever  offers 
himself  for  security  is  thrown  in  with  them." 

Through  the  interference  of  some  of  the  foreign  ambassa 
dors,  conspicuous  among  whom  was  Sir  Stratford  Canning, 
the  evangelical  Armenians  were,  by  the  authority  of  the 
Turkish  government,  delivered  in  a  measure  from  the  op 
pression  of  the  patriarch  ;  and,  on  the  basis  of  the  pledge  of 
1843,  which  guaranteed  a  sort  of  religious  liberty,  they  were 
authorized  to  pursue  their  former  occupations  under  Turkish 
license,  and  were  promised  protection  by  the  Turkish  police. 
But  this  was  a  precarious  reliance,  and  ineffectual  to  secure 
them  even  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  former  means  of  sub 
sistence,  arid  many  became  dependent  on  the  charitable  as 
sistance  of  foreigners.  The  state  of  things  Mr.  Goodell 
describes  a  month  later  :  — 

"April  17.  Thirty -five  shops  remain  shut.  The  Turk 
ish  rulers  decide  with  all  authority  on  the  one  hand  that  there 
must  be  no  religious  persecution,  and  with  equal  authority 
on  the  other  that  not  one  of  these  shops  can  be  opened,  unless 
the  occupant  submits  his  conscience  to  the  patriarch's  rules. 
Thus  the  excommunicated  and  their  families  are  still  depend 
ent  on  charity.  To  put  them  in  prison,  or  destroy  them  by 
fire  and  sword,  would  be  persecution,  and  would  not  be  tol 
erated  ;  but  to  prevent  them  from  laboring,  and  thus  virtually 
to  starve  them  to  death,  is  in  their  estimation  a  master-stroke 
of  policy,  such  as  Nero  and  the  Jesuits  never  thought  of. 
Much  more  sympathy  has  been  awakened  in  this  vicinity  for 
the  sufferers  than  we  had  dared  to  hope.  Messrs.  Hanson 
&  Co.  promptly  gave  us  one  thousand  piastres  for  their  re 
lief,  Mr.  Ede  gave  us  two  thousand,  and  Messrs.  Van  Lennep 
&  Son  one  thousand,  to  say  nothing  of  many  smaller  dona 
tions.  '  But  what  are  they  among  so  many  ? ' 

"  The  patriarch  has  excommunicated  no  new  persons  for 
se\  eral  weeks.  He  seems  to  have  become  suddenly  alarmed 
at  the  numbers  he  was  separating  from  his  own  church,  and 
at  the  daily  decreasing  prospect  of  their  ever  again  being 
united  to  it,  and  at  the  constantly  growing  importance  at 
tached  to  their  interests.  For  the  last  few  weeks  he  has 
H 


314          FORTY   YJtiARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

contented  himself  with  excommunicating  afresh  different 
parties  of  those  already  excommunicated,  as  though  the  first 
excommunication  had  lost  its  etiicacy.  Thus  some  of  them 
have  been  excommunicated  by  name  a  dozen  times  or  more. 

"  We  read  in  Acts  that  '  the  persecution  which  arose  about 
Stephen  '  scattered  all  the  disciples  abroad  except  the  apos 
tles.  But  what  is  very  remarkable,  here  the  persecution  has 
brought  them  all  together.  There  they  had  all  been  living 
together  for  some  time,  had  become  acquainted  with  one 
another,  had  often  prayed  and  conversed  together,  and  it 
seemed  good  to  the  great  Head  of  the  church  that  they  should 
be  scattered  abroad.  But  here  the  brethren  scarcely  knew 
each  other,  many  of  them  had  never  met  excepting  at  the 
chapel,  and  had  perhaps  never  exchanged  a  word  with  each 
other,  and  many  of  their  families  had  never  even  seen  each 
others'  faces.  It  was  therefore  a  kind  and  wise  providence 
that  brought  them  together  in  such  close  contact,  in  order 
that  they  may  become  acquainted  with  one  another,  may 
pray  with  and  for  each  other,  may  learn  to  feel  an  interest 
in  each  other's  welfare,  to  love  as  brethren,  and  to  help  one 
another  on  their  way  to  a  better  world. 

"  Their  intercourse  with  us  and  with  each  other  is  now 
uninterrupted,  and  our  meetings  are  frequent  and  solemn. 
Every  Friday  we  preach  to  a  congregation  of  some  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  females,  many  of  whom  also  attend  the  chapel 
on  the  Sabbath.  In  the  evening  we  from  time  to  time  visit 
the  families  that  occupy  the  two  houses  we  have  taken  for 
them  in  Pera,  when  thirty  or  more  individuals  assemble  to 
unite  in  conversation,  reading  the  Scriptures,  and  prayer. 
These  are  precious  seasons,  which  we  feel  we  must  improve 
while  we  have  the  opportunity,  for  the  persecution  cannot  be 
expected  to  last  always.  There  is  now  less  prayer  offered 
for  the  persecuted,  and  more  for  the  persecutors  and  for  the 
timid  and  wavering.  Some,  without  waiting  to  be  excommu 
nicated  or  molested,  have  already  come  over  to  join  the  little 
flock  of  Christ ;  and  in  this  time  of  '  rebuke  and  blasphemy ' 
why  may  we  not  be  looking  for  some  striking  displays  of 
'  grace  and  glory  '  ?  Why  may  we  not  hope  to  be  '  baptized 
with  the  Holy  Ghost,  not  many  days  hence '  ?  " 

This  hope  was  speedily  fulfilled  in  an*  abundant  outpouring 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  was  followed  by  the  most  decisive 
and  important  results. 


CHURCH    ORGANIZATION.  315 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  time  had  now  come  for  taking  a  step  to  which  the 
various  members  of  the  mission,  and  most  decidedly  of 
all,  the  patriarch  of  the  mission,  Mr.  Goodell,  had  been 
averse  from  the  very  beginning;  but  it  was  a  step  to  which 
they  were  called  alike  by  the  grace  and  the  providence  of 
God.  By  the  extracts  from  his  journal,  and  his  correspond 
ence  on  this  subject,  it  has  been  seen  that  Mr.  Goodell  was 
the  farthest  possible  from  indulging,  or  encouraging  in  others, 
a  spirit  of  proselytism,  and  that  he  did  not  even  desire  to 
have  the  Armenians  leave  their  own  church,  in  which  they 
had  been  born  and  educated.  He  was  anxious  that  not  only 
the  people,  but  the  priests,  and  all  the  ecclesiastics  of  the 
Greek  and  Armenian  churches,  should  see  and  feel  that  the 
missionaries,  in  coming  among  them,  were  not  actuated  by 
any  desire  to  gather  around  themselves  a  company  of  fol 
lowers,  but  that  they  simply  wished  to  persuade  men  to 
become  followers  of  Christ.  So  fully  did  he  act  upon  the 
principle  enunciated  by  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gentiles, 
though  in  somewhat  different  circumstances,  "  Christ  sent  me 
not  to  baptize,  but  to  preach  the  Gospel,"  that  he  steadily 
reftised  to  baptize  the  children  of  Greek  or  Armenian  Chris 
tians,  or  to  encourage  members  of  the  Greek  or  Armenian 
church  to  forsake  in  any  way  the  communion  of  those 
churches,  lest  the  attention  of  the  people  generally  should 
be  drawn  away  from  the  great  object  of  his  mission,  which 
was  to  lead  souls  to  'Christ.  His  desire  was  to  have  the 
leaven  of  the  Gospel,  of  true  spiritual  religion,  diffused 
among  the  masses  of  the  Oriental  churches ;  to  see  them 


316          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

revived  and  renovated,  rather  than  to  organize  a  new  church, 
which  might  become  the  occasion  of  controversy  and  opposi 
tion  to  the  truth.  The  fact  that  from  time  to  time  priests 
as  well  as  people  became  obedient  to  the  faith,  and  then 
preached  a  pure  gospel  to  their  brethren,  encouraged  the 
missionaries  more  and  more  in  the  course  which  they  had 
pursued. 

When  the  Armenian  patriarch  began  to  hurl  his  excom 
munications  at  all  who  had  adopted  the  new  opinions  and 
entered  upon  the  new  life,  and  when  he  forbade  his  people 
to  have  ecclesiastical  or  social  intercourse  with  them ;  when 
those  who  believed  were  driven  out  into  the  wilderness  of 
the  world,  like  sheep  without  a  shepherd,  and  had  no  one  to 
break  to  them  the  bread  of  eternal  life  or  to  administer  to 
them  any  of  the  ordinances  of  the  Gospel  ;  —  when  to  all  these 
privations  there  was  added,  on  the  part  of  their  own  church, 
bitter,  relentless  persecution,  there  was  no  longer  any  ques 
tion  as  to  whether  it  was  duty  to  gather  them  into  another 
fold,  and  watch  over  and  feed  them  in  the  name  of  the  great 
Shepherd. 

The  patriarch  set  the  seal  upon  the  movement  that  was  in 
preparation  among  the  evangelical  party  of  his  community, 
by  issuing,  on  the  21st  of  June,  184G,  a  new  excommunica 
tion,  directed  against  all  who  still  adhered  to  the  principles 
of  the  Gospel,  ordering  that  it  should  be  read  publicly  in 
every  church  in  the  Turkish  empire  at  each  anniversary  of 
the  day  on  which  it  was  issued.  There  was  no  longer  any 
hope  of  their  being  recognized  again  as  members  of  the 
church  in  which  they  were  born,  or  of  their  being  admitted 
to  any  of  its  privileges,  if  privileges  they  could  be  called. 

The  evangelical  Armenians  had,  for  a  long  time,  met 
together  for  mutual  counsel  and  comfort,  but  they  had  110 
separate  ecclesiastical  organization.  Driven,  therefore,  to 
the  last  extremity  by  persecution  and  excommunication, 
they  resolved  to  unite  as  a  branch  of  the  true  catholic  church 
of  Christ ;  and  with  the  advice  of  the  missionaries,  who  pre- 


REJOICING.  317 

pared  for  them  a  platform  or  constitution,  on  the  1st  of 
July,  1846,  they  entered  in  solemn  covenant  as  the  First 
Evangelical  Armenian  Church  of  Constantinople.  Of  this 
event  Mr.  Goodell  wrote :  — 

"'Tisdone!  On  the  1st  inst.  an  evangelical  church  was 
organized  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  prophets, 
Jesus  Christ  Himself  being  the  chief  corner-stone.  It  was 
a  most  interesting  occasion.  The  meeting  continued  four 
hours  and  a  half,  and  was  one  of  great  solemnity.  Forty 
persons,  of  whom  three  were  women,  voluntarily  entered 
into  covenant  with  God  and  with  each  other ;  and  we,  in  the 
name  of  all  the  evangelical  churches  in  Christendom,  rose 
and  formally  recognized  and  acknowledged  them  as  a  true 
church  of  Christ.  They  then  chose  by  ballot  a  pastor  and 
two  deacons,  together  with  three  others,  who  are  to  hold 
office  for  the  term  of  one  year,  and  who  with  the  pastor  and 
deacons  form  a  standing  committee  or  church  session,  for 
the  examination  of  candidates,  the  bringing  forward  of  cases 
of  discipline,  &c.  To  this  church  some  thirty  or  forty  more 
will  probably  be  added  by  profession  just  as  soon  as  time 
shall  be  found  to  examine  and  propound  them. 

"  I  did  not  expect  to  live  to  see  this  day,  but  I  have  seen 
it  and  am  glad.  *  This  is  the  day  which  the  Lord  hath  made, 
and  we  will  rejoice  and  be  glad  in  it.'  When  I  removed  to 
Constantinople  fifteen  years  ago,  I  felt  assured  either  that 
this  day  would  come,  or  that  the  Armenian  Church  as  a  body 
would  be  reformed ;  and  I  never  had  any  anxiety  as  to  the 
result.  I  always  felt  that  we  were  engaged  in  a  great  and 
good  work,  so  great  and  so  good  that  1  would  without  any 
impatience  have  labored  on  in  the  same  way  fifteen  years 
longer,  had  it  so  pleased  the  great  Head  of  the  church. 

"  This  has  been  a  most  marvellous  work  of  God,  and  so 
evident  is  this,  that  the  nations  around  say  one  to  another, 
*  The  Lord  hath  done  great  things  for  them.'  Even  the 
Mussulmans  have  said,  *  This  is  the  miracle  of  1*262  '  (1846). 
It  is  all  wonderful.  I  often  walk  the  room,  and  lift  up  my 
hands  and  say  to  myself,  4  Wonderful !  Wonderful ! '  And 
what  language  more  suitable  for  us  to  use  than  that  of  the 
Psalmist,  4  Not  unto  us,  O  Lord,  not  unto  us,  but  unto  thy 
name  give  glory,  for  thy  mercy  and  for  thy  truth's  sake.' 
He  has  in  this  great  work  condescended  to  make  use  not  so 
much  of  our  wisdom  as  of  our  folly ;  not  so  much  of  our 


318          FORTY  YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

strength  as  of  our  weakness.  And  more  than  this,  He  has 
made  use  of  the  strength,  the  pride,  the  high  looks,  the  mal 
ice,  the  evil  intentions,  the  *  violent  dealings '  of  opposers, 
and  thus  has  He  '  stilled  the  enemy  and  the  avenger,'  and 
covered  their  faces  with  confusion." 

The  pastor-elect  of  this  new  church,  Mr.  Apisoghom 
Khachadurian,  an  Armenian,  was  ordained  July  7,  1846, 
all  the  American  missionaries  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Allan,  of  the 
Free  Church  of  Scotland,  taking  part  in  the  services.  Of 
this  occasion  Mr.  Goodell  wrote :  — 

"  Although  the  ordination  was  kept  secret  on  account  of 
our  straitened  accommodations,  yet  as  many  as  one  hundred 
and  eighty  or  two  hundred  must  have  been  present,  filling 
every  seat  and  every  passage,  and  standing  around  the  doors. 
Perfect  stillness  reigned  during  the  whole,  and  the  attention 
was  profound  and  solemn.  The  hearts  of  the  brethren 
seemed  stirred  up  from  their  innermost  depths.  One  said 
the  whole  place  seemed  full  of  the  angels  of  light ;  another, 
that  his  very  flesh  trembled  for  fear  of  the  Lord  and  for 
the  glory  of  His  majesty,  so  sensibly  did  he  feel  the  divine 
presence." 

The  evangelical  Armenians  who  united  in  this  organiza 
tion  adopted  a  paper  containing  the  reasons  which  induced 
them  to  take  this  step.  It  was  signed  by  the  pastor,  deacons, 
and  committee  of  the  church,  and  was  addressed,  "  To  the 
much  respected  and  honored  members  of  the  society  of  the 
American  Board,"  and  is  as  follows :  — 

"  We,  evangelical  Christians  of  the  Armenian  nation,  be 
lieving  that  the  true  foundation  and  perfect  rule  of  Christian 
faith  is  the  Holy  Scriptures  alone,  have  cast  away  from  us 
those  human  traditions  and  ceremonies  which  are  opposed 
to  the  rules  of  the  Bible,  but  which  our  national  church 
requires.  And,  furthermore,  without  having  had  the  least  in 
tention  of  separating  from  it,  we  have  been  united  together  for 
the  special  purpose  of  enlightening  and  reforming  this  church. 
And  since  we  receive  entire  the  Nicene  creed  of  the  church ; 
and  also  since,  up  to  the  present  time,  no  creed  embracing 
particularly  these  human  traditions  has  been  framed  and 


STATEMENT   BY  THE   CHURCH.  819 

enjoined  upon  the  members  of  the  Armenian  Church  as 
necessary  to  be  received,  we  could  be  considered  as  regular 
members  of  the  national  church  by  simply  receiving  the 
ancient  (Nicene)  creed.  But  in  the  year  184G,  Bishop  Mat- 
teos,  patriarch  of  the  Armenians,  has  invented  a  new  creed, 
embracing  particularly  these  human  traditions,  a  copy  of 
which  is  found  in  the  tract  called  '  An  Answer,'  &c.,  printed 
in  Smyrna,  and  he  has  insisted  upon  our  accepting  and  sub 
scribing  it. 

"  But  we,  obeying  God  rather  than  man,  have  not  received 
it ;  on  account  of  which  he  has  cast  us  out  of  the  church,  and 
anathematized  us  particularly  and  publicly  by  name ;  and, 
according  to  his  ability,  lie  has  also  inflicted  upon  us  material 
injuries.  We  had  indeed,  previous  to  this,  suffered  persecu 
tion  of  different  kinds  for  our  religious  opinions  ;  as,  for  in 
stance,  about  seven  years  ago  several  of  us  were  sent  into 
exile ;  and  also  within  about  two  years  some  have  been  ban 
ished,  some  put  in  prison,  some  fined,  some  bastinadoed,  &c. ; 
yet,  since  the  present  patriarch  rejected  us  by  excommunica 
tion  from  the  church,  he  has  inflicted  on  us  generally  various 
additional  bodily  penalties.  Thus,  for  several  months  all  the 
shops  of  the  evangelical  Armenians  were  closed ;  some  were 
unwillingly  separated  from  their  homes  and  parents,  and 
some  even  from  their  wives  and  husbands  ;  bakers  and  water- 
carriers  were  forbidden  to  bring  either  bread  or  water ;  and 
to  the  extent  of  his  ability  he  strove  by  every  species  of 
bodily  infliction  to  compel  us  to  receive  and  sign  his  new 
confession  of  faith. 

"  And  although  by  the  interposed  protection  of  the  power 
ful  Ottoman  government  he  has  been  prevented  from  con 
tinuing  this  severity  of  persecution,  he  has  to  this  day,  every 
day  on  the  Sabbath,  repeated  the  command  to  the  Armenian 
people  not  to  receive  us  into  their  houses  or  shops,  or  even 
to  look  upon  us.  And,  finally,  after  all  these  things,  he  has 
issued  a  new  bull,  and  caused  it  to  be  read  in  all  the  churches 
on  the  day  of  the  Catholic  Church  festival ;  which  bull  of 
excommunication  and  anathema  is  also  to  be  read  in  all  the 
churches  throughout  the  Ottoman  empire,  every  year  succes 
sively  at  the  same  festival.  Thus  he  cuts  us  off  and  casts  us 
out  for  ever  from  the  national  church,  by  the  standing  order 
and  high  authority  of  this  bull. 

"  And  now,  it  being  evident  that  we  cannot  be  in  fellow 
ship  with  the  Armenian  Church  without  receiving  human 


320          FORTY   YEARS   IN    THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

traditions  and  rites,  which,  being  contrary  to  the  Holy  Script 
ures,  we  cannot  receive,  we  therefore,  by  the  grace  and 
mercy  of  God,  following  the  doctrine  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  obeying  the  Gospel,  and  consequently  being 
members  of  His  one  catholic  and  apostolical  church,  do  now 
rightfully  and  justly  constitute  ourselves  into  a  church  with 
the  following  confession  of  faith." 

To  this  was  appended  a  confession  that  is  strictly  in 
accordance  with  the  faith  of  the  reformed  churches  gen 
erally. 

In  regard  to  the  wisdom  and  propriety  of  the  course  which 
had  been  pursued  by  the  mission,  in  abstaining  heretofore 
from  all  attempts  at  effecting  a  separate  organization  of  the 
Armenians,  Mr.  Goodell  wrote  at  this  time :  — 

"  We  could  not  have  attempted  it  without  descending  from 
the  high  and  holy  ground  we  occupied,  and  coming  down,  or 
appearing  to  come  down,  to  the  low  earthly  stand  of  mere 
sectarianism.  We  could  not  have  attempted  it  without  endan 
gering  our  very  existence  as  a  mission,  and  thus  exposing  to 
infinite  hazard  this  blessed  work  of  the  Lord.  It  was  first 
necessary,  in  the  providence  of  God,  that  the  Armenian 
renegade  should  be  beheaded,  the  sympathies  of  the  whole 
Christian  world  awakened,  and  the  death-blow  to  despotism 
given  by  extorting  that  wonderful  pledge  from  the  Sultan. 
Most  manifestly  for  the  first  years  of  this  mission  Christ 
sent  us  not  to  baptize,  but  to  preach  the  Gospel ;  and  I, 
therefore,  thank  God  that  we  were  enabled  in  this  respect 
to  do  our  duty,  though  hard  to  flesh  and  blood,  and  that  we 
absolutely  baptized  110  one,  not  even  Crispus  and  Gaius. 
But  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord,  these  more  than  Chinese 
walls  are  now  broken  down.  *  The  former  things  are  passed 
away/  and  '  there  is  no  more  sea.' " 

Of  the  circumstances  and  the  reasons  which  led  to  the 
change  of  policy  on  the  part  of  the  mission  in  the  organiza 
tion  of  churches,  Mr.  Goodell  subsequently  wrote :  — 

"When  I  came  to  Constantinople  in  1831,  having  learned 
something  from  experience  in  other  places,  I  was  fully  con 
vinced  that  we  ought  to  stand  as  far  aloof  as  possible  from  any 


REASONS   OF   MISSION.  321 

connection  with  bigotry,  and  to  be  altogether  free  from  any 
policy  that  was  narrow  and  contracted  ;  that  from  our  peculiar 
circumstances,  being  thrown  among  persons  of  all  religions, 
we  ought  to  consider  ourselves  as  belonging  rather  to  the 
universal  church  of  Christ  than  to  any  particular  section 
or  denomination  of  that  church.  Accordingly,  being  often 
called  upon  by  Europeans  of  different  nations  and  com 
munions  to  officiate  at  funerals,  baptisms,  marriages,  &c., 
in  the  absence  of  their  respective  chaplains,  we  endeavored 
to  conform  ourselves  as  far  as  possible  to  their  forms,  — -  those 
for  which  they  had  predilections,  —  thus  not  seeking  our  own 
proh't  or  pleasure,  but  of  many,  for  their  edification. 

"  In  our  intercourse  with  the  natives  of  the  countries,  for 
whose  good  our  labors  were  specially  directed,  we  endeav 
ored  to  act  in  the  same  liberal  manner.  It  was  not  to  pull 
down  their  churches  and  build  up  our  own  that  we  came 
here,  and  we  have  not  from  the  first  day  until  now  so  much 
as  hinted  to  any  one  that  he  should  leave  his  church  and 
join  ours.  Our  efforts  have  been  directed  rather  to  enlighten, 
improve,  and  elevate  the  whole  community  by  means  of 
books  and  schools,  and  in  our  earlier  efforts  we  had  the 
sanction  of  these  ecclesiastics,  and  had  intercourse  with  their 
patriarchs  and  bishops.  But  as  the  people  became  enlight 
ened,  and  some  of  them  began  to  take  a  lively  interest  in 
the  things  they  were  learning,  persecutions  began  to  take 
place.  In  these  persecutions  no  question  was  asked  the 
accused  by  their  accusers,  no  opportunity  given  them  to 
explain  the  reason  of  their  faith  or  conduct,  no  creed 
offered  to  them  to  subscribe.  They  were  seized  and  thrown 
into  prison  or  sent  into  exile  without  form  or  ceremony,  and 
when  they  were  released  or  recalled,  as  they  had  never  been 
excommunicated,  they  still  retained  their  connection,  both 
civil  and  ecclesiastical,  with  their  ancient  church. 

"  But  this  persecution  has  been  different.  The  people 
were  called  upon  to  recant  their  opinions.  A  creed  was 
presented  for  them  to  subscribe,  —  not  a  creed  of  the  church, 
but  a  creed  prepared  for  them  by  the  patriarch,  with  special 
reference  to  their  principles,  and  which  no  enlightened, 
conscientious  man  could  subscribe.  The  consequence  was, 
many  were  excommunicated,  cut  off  from  their  church,  were 
persecuted,  and  the  sufferings  of  many  were  great. 

"  As  excommunicated  persons  they  were,  of  course,  de 
prived  of  the  sacraments  and  ordinances  of  the  Gospel.  But 

14*  u 


822    '      FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

these  were  not  men  of  careless  lives  that  they  should  con 
tinue  willingly  deprived  of  these  sacraments  and  ordinances. 
They  were  not  infidels.  They  were  serious  men  and  women, 
who  prized  the  Sabbath,  the  house  of  prayer,  and  all  the 
institutions  of  the  Gospel.  After  waiting  some  four  or  five 
months,  they  applied  to  us  to  assist  in  organizing  them  into 
churches.  This  we  have  accordingly  done,  for  '  who  could 
forbid  water  that  they  should  not  be  baptized  ? '  Who  could 
forbid  bread  and  wine  that  they  should  not  commemorate 
the  death  of  Christ?  And  who  could  forbid  their  having 
pastors  to  feed  them  with  knowledge?  We  assisted  in 
organizing  them  into  churches  at  Constantinople,  Nicomedia, 
Ada  Bazar,  and  Trebizond.  These  churches  are  not  ours, 
but  theirs.  We  have  no  control  over  them.  They  are  not 
formed  exactly  according  to  the  model  of  any  of  our  churches 
in  America.  We  went  directly  to  the  New  Testament  for 
our  model.  These  are  all  Protestant  churches,  and  their 
articles  of  faith  are  such  as  are  acknowledged  by  all  the 
great  brandies  of  the  Protestant  church  in  America,  Eng 
land,  and  the  continent  of  Europe.  And  these  churches  we 
present  to  you  at  this  time  as  members,  and  I  hope  worthy 
members,  of  the  great  Protestant  family." 

Before  the  close  of  the  year  two  aged  members  were  called 
from  the  ranks  of  the  church  militant  to  enter  upon  the  rest 
and  reward  of  the  church  triumphant.  Mention  is  made  of 
these  cases,  not  only  because  they  illustrate  the  power  of 
God's  grace,  and  the  genuineness  of  the  work  which  had 
been  wrought  among  the  Armenians,  but  also  as  showing  the 
ext-en*  to  which  the  spirit  of  persecution  was  carried  on  the 
part  of  their  former  brethren.  These  aged  saints,  who  died 
in  the  faith  and  triumph  of  the  Gospel,  were  hounded  to 
their  very  graves  by  their  persecutors. 

One  of  them  was  an  old  man,  who  had  learned  the  way  of 
life  in  the  very  evening  of  his  days.  His  previous  history 
had  been  remarkable.  He  had  been  once  saved  from  the 
sword  of  the  Janizaries  when  they  ranged  the  city  altogether 
without  law.  When  a  comparatively  young  man,  as  he  was 
going  home  one  evening  from  the  bazaars,  he  passed  two  of 
the  Janizaries,  who  sat  in  front  of  a  coffee-shop  admiring  a 


GOING  HOME  TO  GLORY.  323 

new  yataghan,  or  sword,  that  one  of  them  held  in  his  hand. 
Seeing  the  Armenian,  he  ordered  him  to  come  to  him,  and 
then  told  him  he  had  just  bought  a  new  yataghan,  the 
metal  of  which  he  was  going  to  try  by  cutting  off  his  head ; 
which  he  would  have  done  with  as  little  compunction  as  he 
would  have  cut  off  the  head  of  a  dog,  and  with  as  perfect 
impunity,  so  abject  at  that  time  was  the  subjection  of  the 
Christians  to  the  Mohammedans.  It  was  only  by  humbling 
himself  at  the  feet  of  the  blood-thirsty  Janizary,  and  pleading, 
not  so  much  for  his  own  sake  as  for  that  of  his  family, 
dependent  on  him  for  daily  bread,  that  the  Armenian's  life 
was  spared  at  the  entreaty  of  the  other  Janizary,  who  said, 
"  Let  the  hog  live."  When  the  first  evangelical  church  was 
organized,  this  Armenian,  now  an  old  man,  was  one  of  its 
original  members,  having  been  brought  to  a  knowledge  of  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  He  was  present  at  the  ordination  of 
the  pastor,  and  was  then  ready  to  say,  "  Lord,  now  lettest 
thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace,  for  mine  eyes  have  seen 
thy  salvation." 

He  was  soon  called  to  join  the  church  triumphant.  As  he 
was  drawing  near  his  end,  some  one  asked  him  how  he  re 
garded  the  step  he  had  taken  in  forsaking  the  church  of  his 
fathers,  and  in  turning  his  feet  into  a  new  path  that  had  been 
pointed  out  to  him  by  strangers  from  a  strange  land.  His 
reply  was,  "  It  is  the  Gospel  that  I  have  received  in  the  place 
of  human  inventions."  To  one  of  the  missionaries,  who 
called  to  see  him,  he  said,  in  great  weakness  of  body  but  in 
firmness  of  spirit,  "  I  am  going  to  leave  all  my  brethren  and 
friends  here,  but  I  am  going  to  join  other  equally  dear  friends 
elsewhere."  On  the  occasion  of  his  burial  an  immense  mob 
of  hostile  Armenians  assembled  at  the  cemetery,  shouting 
and  hooting  at  the  company  of  evangelical  brethren  who 
attended  his  remains,  assailing  them  not  only  with  abusive 
and  filthy  language,  but  with  stones.  Mr.  Dvvight  and  many 
of  the  native  brethren  were  struck  with  the  stones. 

The  other  case  was  that  of  a  shopkeeper,  who  had  for- 


324          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

merly  been  an  opposer.  When  he  received  the  Gospel,  he 
was  called  to  take  the  spoiling  of  his  goods,  and  to  suffer 
violence.  He  was  driven  from  his  father's  house,  and  never 
permitted  to  return.  He  was  once  attacked  in  the  streets, 
knocked  down  and  beaten.  As  he  was  seated  one  day  in  his 
shop,  he  was  assailed  by  one  of  the  patriarch's  men,  who  had 
previously  threatened  to  take  his  life.  The  assault  brought 
on  a  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs,  which  soon  after  proved  fatal. 
As  he  was  about  to  die,  he  exclaimed,  "  Glory  to  God  that 
Ho  has  condescended  to  call  me  into  the  light  of  His  glorious 
Gospel !  Blessed  be  His  name  that  I  have  been  made  ac 
quainted  with  my  former  errors  in  time,  and  that  the  true 
Gospel  has  been  made  known  to  me !  Glory  to  Thee,  O 
Lord  !  Glory  to  Thee,  O  Lord  Jesus  !  "  When  he  could  no 
longer  speak,  he  looked  upward,  and  pointed  toward  heaven 
as  the  home  to  which  he  was  going. 

The  pastor  of  the  church,  Mr.  Apisoghom,  was  not  long  in 
following  these  first-garnered  fruits.  It  was  thought  that 
the  injuries  he  received  from  the  mob  at  the  funeral  of  the 
aged  disciple  who  was  first  called  home  were  among  the  im 
mediate  causes  of  the  attack  that  resulted  in  his  death.  He 
passed  away  giving  glory  to  God.  His  peace  and  joy  at  the 
last  called  forth  expressions  of  sympathetic  triumph  on  the 
part  of  his  friends  who  were  present,  even  in  the  midst  of 
their  grief  at  his  death. 

The  number  of  members  of  this  church  was  speedily 
doubled,  and  similar  organizations  soon  followed  at  different 
places  in  the  interior,  no  hindrance  being  offered  by  the 
Turkish  government.  The  Spirit  of  God  was  poured  out 
upon  portions  of  the  Armenian  community,  and  scenes  of 
awakening  and  conversion,  such  as  have  been  witnessed  in 
Christian  lands,  were  vouchsafed  to  the  infant  church  of 
Christ  in  Turkey.  A  special  visitation  of  the  Spirit  was 
enjoyed  in  the  boarding-school  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Goodell, 
several  of  the  girls  giving  the  clearest  evidence  that  they 
had  been  born  again.  In  the  elevated,  we  might  say  the 


REVIVAL   IN   SCHOOL.  325 

excited,  state  of  his  feelings,  produced  by  these  manifestations 
of  the  power  and  grace  of  God,  Mr.  Goodell  wrote,  on  the 
7th  of  December,  in  the  same  year  :  — 

"  He  who  has  saved  His  people  here  '  from  the  lion  and 
the  bear,'  from  the  fury  of  the  patriarch,  the  prison  and 
the  bastinado  of  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  rulers,  has  now 
come  to  command  still  greater  deliverances  for  them.  In  the 
former  case  He  employed  inferior  agencies,  but  He  is  now 
employing  His  highest  and  greatest  and  best.  Yes,  His  Holy 
Spirit  has  now  come  to  save,  not  the  body,  but  the  soul,  not 
from  the  power  of  man,  but  from  the  dominion  of  sin  and 
Satan. 

"  It  was  on  the  Sabbath,  the  22d  ult.,  that  something 
unusual  in  the  Female  Seminary  was  first  noticed.  Two  of 
the  pupils  came  to  Miss  Lovell,  and  asked,  with  tears,  how 
they  could  obtain  new  hearts,  saying  they  had  been  praying 
for  it  for  several  weeks,  but  the  more  they  prayed  the  worse 
their  hearts  appeared  to  them,  and  they  were  entirely  dis 
couraged.  Others  in  the  school  were  almost  immediately 
brought  under  the  convincing  power  of  the  Spirit,  and  in  a 
few  days  the  seriousness  was  general.  Individuals  would 
have  to  leave  their  studies  and  the  school-room  to  give  them 
selves  unto  prayer.  Many  were  the  little  circles  of  prayer 
held  at  odd  moments  during  the  day,  and  every  evening  the 
whole  school  had  a  prayer-meeting  among  themselves.  On 
the  following  Friday  the  state  of  feeling  was  such  that,  con 
trary  to  our  intentions,  all  study  throughout  the  whole  school 
had  to  be  given  up." 

As  the  result  of  this  awakening,  of  the  fifteen  pupils  all 
but  two  were  soon  rejoicing  in  hope,  and  gave  good  evidence 
of  conversion ;  and  the  spiritual  influence  also  pervaded  the 
minds  of  the  students  in  the  seminary  at  Bebek. 

After  this  work  of  grace  had  commenced  in  the  school, 
the  whole  congregation  of  evangelical  Armenians  (or  Prot 
estants,  as  they  now  began  to  be  called)  observed  a  day  of 
fasting,  humiliation,  and  prayer,  with  reference  to  this  dis 
play  of  God's  presence  and  power.  The  chapel  was  crowded  ; 
and  from  this  time  onward  many  others  were  heard  asking 
what  they  must  do  to  be  saved.  One  of  the  Armenian 


326  FORTY    YEARS    IN   THE    TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

women,  who  had  never  before  had  any  conscious  knowledge 
of  what  it  was  to  be  moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  said  that,  at 
the  chapel  on  the  day  of  prayer,  she  felt  impelled  to  go  out 
of  the  meeting  and  bring  in  all  her  nation.  Several  were 
hopefully  converted  on  that  very  day. 

Near  the  close  of  the  year  1846,  Mr.  Goodell  received  an 
urgent  invitation  to  join  an  American  family,  with  whom  he 
was  on  terms  of  intimate  friendship,  and  who  were  then  at 
Constantinople,  to  make  the  tour  of  the  Holy  Land.  But 
he  declined  the  invitation,  and,  in  a  private  letter  to  a  friend, 
written  at  the  time,  gave  the  following  reason  for  not  accept 
ing  it :  "  Though  I  have  never  yet  seen  Jerusalem,  I  did  riot 
feel  that  I  could  leave  my  work,  especially  as  my  health  did 
not  seem  to  require  any  relaxation."  His  course  in  forego 
ing  this  opportunity  to  fulfil  the  long-cherished  desire  of  his 
heart  to  "  stand  within  thy  gates,  O  Jerusalem !  "  is  a  simple 
illustration  of  the  spirit  of  the  man,  of  the  self-sacrificing 
devotion  with  which  he  had  consecrated  himself  to  the  ser 
vice  of  Christ  in  the  missionary  work.  When  he  left  the 
United  States,  and,  indeed,  when  he  was  first  taken  into  the 
service  of  the  Board,  it  was  with  the  full  expectation  of  going 
to  labor  on  the  spot  where  his  Master  had  lived  and  taught 
and  suffered  for  the  salvation  of  men.  He  had  no  romantic 
ideas  of  the  missionary  work,  but  he  cherished  the  most 
sacred  associations  with  the  scenes  of  the  Saviour's  life  and 
death.  When  he  reached  Beyrout,  it  appeared  best  that  he 
should  remain  there,  for  a  time  at  least ;  and  there  he  spent 
five  years  on  the  borders  of  the  Holy  Land,  without  actu 
ally  entering  it.  He  had  no  time  that  he  could  take  from 
his  Master's  work  to  devote  to  his  own  personal  gratification, 
even  in  a  matter  of  such  sacred  interest  as  a  visit  to  the 
Holy  City.  And  now,  after  more  than  twenty  years  of 
unrelaxed  toil,  because  he  felt  no  special  need  of  relaxation, 
he  declined  the  most  favorable  opportunity  he  was  likely  to 
enjoy,  and  the  only  opportunity,  in  fact,  that  ever  did  pre 
sent  itself  in  the  same  inviting  form. 


FIRST   ARMENIAN    MARRIAGE.  827 

In  June  of  the  following  year  he  made  a  brief  trip  to 
Smyrna,  his  health  in  the  mean  time  having  become  greatly 
enfeebled  by  his  incessant  labor,  and  by  the  anxiety  and  joy 
he  had  experienced  in  connection  with  the  special  religious 
interest  that  prevailed  in  the  school  and  among  the  people. 
During  his  absence,  one  of  the  girls  of  the  seminary  under 
his  care,  about  thirteen  years  of  age,  had  died  of  consump 
tion  ;  but  she  was  fully  prepared  by  the  grace  of  the  Saviour 
for  her  departure.  For  many  days  before  the  end  came,  her 
face  was  shining  like  that  of  an  angel,  and  her  peace  was  like 
a  river.  She  fell  asleep  at  last,  like  a  child  upon  its  mother's 
breast.  So  general  and  deep  was  the  interest  felt  in  this 
young  convert,  that  more  than  a  thousand  persons  gathered 
around  her  grave,  where  the  funeral  services  were  held,  — 
an  unprecedented  sight  at  Constantinople,  in  connection  with 
the  death  of  a  young  girl. 

The  first  marriage,  according  to  the  simple  rites  of  the 
Protestant  Armenian  Church,  was  celebrated  on  the  4th  of 
November,  1847.  Hitherto  all  marriage  ceremonies  had 
been  performed  by  the  clergy  of  the  old  church ;  but  now 
that  the  Protestants  had  a  separate  organization,  they  had 
no  occasion  to  go  back  to  the  old  ecclesiastics,  nor  could  they 
obtain  from  them  any  official  service.  They  were  excom 
municate.  The  bride,  in  the  marriage  alluded  to,  was  a 
pupil  of  the  Female  Seminary,  of  whom  Mr.  Goodell  gives 
the  following  sketch  :  — 

"  She  was  in  school  a  little  more  than  a  year,  but  it  was 
to  her  the  year  of  jubilee.  She  came  poor  and  ignorant, 
and  it  was  necessary  to  assist  her  with  clothing.  She  had 
no  bed,  and  expressed  her  willingness  to  lie  on  the  floor. 
But  she  was  diligent  in  her  studies ;  she  waked  up  to  a  new 
life ;  she  sat  daily  at  the  feet  of  her  heavenly  Teacher,  to 
learn  of  Him  ;  she  had  much  to  learn,  and  she  learned  much  ; 
she  joined  the  church  of  Christ ;  and  the  poor  ignorant  girl, 
whom  we  at  first  hesitated  to  receive,  has  become  wise  unto 
salvation,  and  rich  for  eternity.  She  is  now  married  to  one 
of  our  native  helpers,  who  was  employed  by  us  to  distribute 
the  word  of  God,  and  point  dying  men  to  the  life-giving 
etlicacy  of  atoning  blood." 


328          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

WE  have  had  occasion  more  than  once  to  speak  of  the 
catholic  spirit  which  Mr.  Goodell  manifested  to 
ward  all  who  loved  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  whatever 
church  of  Christ  they  belonged.  All  were  his  brethren, 
truly  and  well  beloved,  who  loved  and  served  the  same 
Master.  This  characteristic  marked  his  whole  life,  and  ap 
pears  in  all  his  writings,  as  they  have  been  transferred  to 
these  pages.  It  is  a  pleasure,  also,  to  record  that  he  was 
generally  received  in  the  same  spirit,  even  by  those  who 
might  be  supposed  to  differ  from  him  in  regard  to  important 
ecclesiastical  matters.  He  was  called  to  act  as  a  sort  of 
chaplain  to  the  English  embassy  from  time  to  time,  during 
a  great  part  of  his  residence  at  Constantinople,  and  in  the 
families  of  English  and  American  Episcopalians  he  was 
often  invited  to  officiate  as  a  minister  of  Christ  in  the  most 
sacred  services.  To  them  he  was  a  true  minister  of  Christ, 
accredited  not  only  by  his  standing  in  the  church,  but  by  his 
life  of  faith  and  holy  service,  and  by  the  evidence  that  the 
spirit  of  grace  was  upon  him.  The  following  extract  from 
one  of  his  letters  will  show  what  feelings  were  cherished 
toward  him  by  the  members  and  representatives  of  the 
Church  of  England:  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  April  7,  1847. 

"  The  Rev.  Dr.  Bennett,  who  was  chaplain  to  the  British 
embassy  here,  departed  this  life  on  the  26th  April,  1847, 
of  disease  of  the  heart.  At  his  request  I  visited  him  often 
during  his  illness,  and  prayed  by  his  bedside.  The  conso 
lations  of  religion,  which  he  had  so  often  been  called  in  the 


ENGLISH   CHAPLAINS.  329 

course  of  a  long  ministry  to  give  to  others  in  their  last 
hours,  I  endeavored  to  administer  to  him ;  and  though  the 
prayers  I  offered  were  probably  the  first  extemporaneous 
prayers  he  ever  heard,  they  appeared  to  be  a  comfort  to 
him. 

"  Of  his  situation  as  a  dying  man  he  was  perfectly  aware ; 
and  he  made  all  his  arrangements,  and  gave  his  parting 
counsels  to  his  friends  with  as  much  calmness  and  composure 
as  though  his  removal,  instead  of  being  from  time  to  eternity, 
was  to  be  only  a  removal  from  one  apartment  of  his  house 
to  another.  His  end  was  peace.  He  often  remarked,  '  I 
die  in  peace  with  all  men.  I  feel  no  ill-will  towards  any 
person,  however  much  he  may  have  differed  from  me.'  And, 
*  although  I  have  endeavored  to  perform  with  fidelity  the 
duties  of  my  station,  yet  I  know  I  am  a  sinner,  and  I  do  not 
expect  salvation  for  any  works  of  my  own,  but  only  through 
the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.'  His  spirit  was  truly  a 
catholic  one ;  and,  instead  of  that  exclusiveness  which  *  sepa- 
rateth  very  friends,'  his  was  that  charity  which  embraces  all 
the  good,  of  whatever  name  or  denomination.  Rarely,  if 
ever,  did  I  visit  him  during  the  last  few  weeks  of  his  life, 
when  he  did  not  send  his  love  and  blessing  to  all  the  mission 
ary  brethren,  often  to  each  one  by  name.  At  the  request  of 
his  family,  at  the  request  also  of  the  English  residents,  and 
of  Mr.  Wellesly,  the  English  ambassador,  I  performed  the 
last  sad  offices  at  the  funeral  on  the  29th.  On  the  following 
Sabbath  I  endeavored  to  improve  the  occasion  by  an  appro 
priate  discourse,  and  to  stir  up  the  people  to  prayers  that 
another  pastor  may  be  speedily  sent  to  them,  one  who  shall 
be  a  man  after  God's  own  heart.  And  as  this  is  a  subject 
which  concerns  not  only  them,  but  also  this  mission,  let  prayer 
be  offered  for  them  by  all  the  friends  of  the  missionary 
cause." 

Of  the  successor  to  Dr.  Bennett  in  the  chaplaincy  of  the 
English  embassy,  he  subsequently  wrote :  — 

"The  Lord  in  answer  to  prayer  has  sent  to  the  English 
residents  here  a  worthy  chaplain  and  lady.  They  both  seem 
to  be  very  pious  and  excellent  persons,  as  far  removed  from 
Puseyism  on  the  one  hand  as  from  indifferentism  on  the 
other,  lie  preached  a  thorough-going  sermon  on  the  new 
birth,  in  our  chapel,  the  first  Sabbath  he  spent  in  Constan 
tinople." 


330          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE  TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

Up  to  1847  the  Protestants  had  no  recognition  before 
the  Turkish  government  apart  from  the  Armenian  nation  to 
which  they  belonged.  They  were  still  nominally  subject  to 
the  patriarch,  although  they  had  enjoyed  a  measure  of  pro 
tection  from  the  Turkish  officials.  Their  separation  being 
complete,  it  was  absolutely  necessary  for  their  comfort  and 
convenience,  and  almost  for  their  existence,  in  the  order  of 
things  that  prevailed  under  the  government  of  the  Porte, 
that  they  should  have  their  independence  distinctly  recognized. 
In  the  temporary  absence  of  Sir  Stratford  Canning,  who  had 
been  the  steadfast  friend  of  the  missionaries  and  of  the  per 
secuted  Christians,  Lord  Cowley  negotiated  the  matter  with 
the  government,  and  on  the  loth  of  November,  1847,  the 
grand  vizier  issued  a  firman,  declaring  that  the  "  Christian 
subjects  of  the  Ottoman  government  professing  Protestant 
ism  "  should  constitute  a  separate  community,  with  all  the 
rights  and  privileges  belonging  to  others,  and  that  "  no  in 
terference  whatever  be  permitted  in  their  temporal  or  spirit 
ual  concerns  on  the  part  of  the  patriarch,  monks,  or  priests 
of  other  sects."*  This  firman  was  so  worded  that  con 
verts  from  among  the  Greeks  and  Jews  who  joined  the  Prot 
estants  might  enjoy  the  same  immunities.  This  decree  was 
sent  to  all  the  pashas  in  the  interior ;  and  upon  the  basis  of 
it  a  head  to  the  new  community  was  chosen,  occupying  in 
civil  matters  the  same  position  as  the  patriarch  among  the 
Armenians  or  Greeks. 

The  missionaries  of  the  American  Board  united  in  sending 
to  Lord  Cowley  a  letter  expressive  of  their  sense  of  the 
important  service  which  he  had  rendered  in  securing  to  the 
Protestant  Christians  liberty  of  conscience  and  the  enjoy 
ment  of  the  same  civil  rights  with  other  Christian  subjects 
of  the  Porte.  The  reply  of  the  British  ambassador  was 
alike  honorable  to  himself  and  to  those  to  whom  it  was  sent. 
Addressing  Mr.  Goodell  as  the  senior,  and  representative  of 
the  mission,  he  wrote :  — 

*  See  Appendix. 


CHARACTERISTIC   LETTER.  331 

"  Permit  me  also  to  take  this  opportunity  of  publicly  stat 
ing  how  much  the  Protestants  owe  to  you  and  to  the  society 
which  sent  you  here.  I  gladly  give  my  testimony  to  the 
zeal,  prudence,  and  patience  which  have  characterized  all 
your  proceedings  in  this  country,  and  to  which  I  attribute 
much  of  the  success  that  has  crowned  our  joint  endeavors. 

"  We.  however,  are  but  mere  instruments  in  the  hands  of 
a  higher  power ;  though  perhaps  to  you,  reverend  sir,  it  ill 
becomes  me  to  make  the  observation.  To  that  same  power, 
then,  let  us  recommend  the  future  interests  of  the  emancipated 
community." 

Another  letter,  to  his  friend  Judge  Cooke,  of  Catskill,  is 
here  inserted:  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  Jan.  1,  1848. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, —  Henry's  Commentary  of  the  Bible,  which 
you  gave  me  some  seventeen  years  ago,  as  a  balance  for  not 
writing  me  as  often  as  you  should,  I  gave  yesterday  to  Baron 
Harutun,  who  was  recently  ordained  as  pastor  over  the 
evangelical  churches  at  Nicomedia  and  Ada  Bazar.  I 
think  a  small  balance  must  again  be  due  me  on  the  same 
score.  It  is  difficult,  of  course,  to  state  the  amount  with  much 
precision,  when  from  the  nature  of  the  case  not  even  algebra 
ical  terms  can  be  used ;  but  suppose  I  give  you  a  receipt  in 
the  following  manner :  — 

Received  of  the  Hon.  Thomas  B.  Cooke,  one  copy  of 
"  Message  from  God,  or  Thoughts  on  Religion  for  Thinking 
Men;"  one  copy  of  "Tale  of  the  Armenians,"  by  MacFar- 
laiie  ;  and  one  copy  of  "  Life  of  Caspar  Ilauser,"  —  being  an 
equivalent  for  balance  due  me  for  default  in  correspondence 
since  1831.  W.  GOODELL. 

Though  I  have  acknowledged  in  the  above  to  have  received 
the  equivalent,  yet  this  is  only  for  form's  sake,  to  make  the 
document  legal,  and  thus  secure  you  from  all  fear,  or  possi 
bility  even,  of  further  molestation.  But  should  you  add  one 
or  two  sets  of  the  American  Tract  Society's  publications  for 
some  of  our  native  pastors,  and  various  other  things  which 
may  suggest  themselves  to  your  fruitful  and  benevolent  mind, 
I  do  not  think  that  even  then  the  whole  would  be  any  thing 
more  than  the  legal  interest  for  one  year,  and  much  less  a 
full  equivalent  for  the  whole,  principal  and  interest.  But  as 


332          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE  TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

I  never  intend  to  injure  you  or  any  of  your  family  on  account 
of  this  debt,  I  have  given  you  a  receipt  in  full,  and  I  hope 
you  will  take  no  advantage  of  my  having  more  confidingly 
than  prudently  placed  my  signature  to  it. 

Both  the  pastor  at  Constantinople  and  the  one  at  Nicome- 
dia  understand  English,  and  so  also  does  the  one  about  to  be 
ordained  at  Trebizond.  The  first  pastor  of  the  church  at 
Constantinople  died  last  March,  and  was  succeeded  by  his 
brother.  At  every  communion,  which  is  once  in  two  months, 
there  have  been  additions  to  this  church.  It  now  numbers 
ninety-three,  of  whom  thirty-four  are  females.  All  the 
members  of  the  church  can  read,  and  all  except  a  few  females 
can  write.  This  new  community  is  indeed  by  far  the  best 
educated  of  any  native  sect  in  the  whole  country.  They  are 
poor ;  but,  if  the  richest  man  in  the  empire  had  joined  them 
two  years  ago,  he  would  have  been  as  poor  as  any  of  them, 
for  so  violent  was  the  persecution,  that  they  were  called  to 
suffer  the  loss  of  all  things.  They  are  now  acknowledged 
by  the  Ottoman  empire  as  a  distinct  and  separate  commu 
nity,  having  a  Turkish  officer  of  high  rank  for  their  civil 
head,  and  all  their  ecclesiastical  and  spiritual  matters  being 
managed  by  themselves  without  interference  from  any  quar 
ter.  This  was  effected  through  the  influence  of  the  English 
ambassador. 

The  Female  Seminary  now  contains  twenty-three  pupils. 
During  the  year  one  left  on  account  of  ill-health,  one  died  in 
the  triumphs  of  faith,  and  one,  a  professor  of  religion,  was 
married  to  a  native  brother,  who  has  gone  to  be  a  helper  in 
the  work  at  Broosa.  The  Boys'  Seminary  at  Bebek  con 
tains  forty. 

Our  eldest  son,  William,  left  us  last  spring,  and  is  now  a 
member  of  Williams  College.  Mrs.  Goodell  is  as  great  a 
student  as  ever,  and  next  to  the  Bible  prizes  her  Turkish 
and  Armenian  Dictionaries.  Every  morning  at  the  break 
fast  table  she  and  Miss  Lovell  repeat  their  verse  of  Scripture 
in  Armenian,  the  elder  children  in  Greek  and  French,  the 
three  younger  children  in  English,  and  myself  in  Turkish. 

January  3.  This  is  the  great  monthly  concert,  and  a  glo 
rious  day  it  has  been  in  Constantinople.  Think  of  a  great 
union  prayer-meeting,  consisting  of  English,  Scotch,  Ameri 
cans,  Germans,  Greeks,  Armenians,  Jews,  and  Catholics,  — 
and  all  sitting  down  together  at  the  table  of  the  Lord ;  Epis 
copalians,  Presbyterians.  Congregationalists,  Lutherans,  Bap- 


FAILING   HEALTH.  333 

tists,  Methodists,  baptized  Jews,  and  Protestant  Armenians. 
Prayers  were  offered  in  three  languages,  Turkish,  English, 
and  Armenian.  Addresses  were  made  in  four  languages, 
German,  P^nglish,  Armenian,  and  Turkish,  and  hymns  were 
sung  to  the  same  tune  at  the  same  moment  in  three  different 
languges,  Armenian,  German,  and  English.  There  was  no 
contusion,  no  discord.  No  one  was  out  of  tune,  or  out  of 
time.  The  harmony  was  perfect,  while  each  with  the  spirit 
and  with  the  greatest  power  and  might  was  singing,  in  his 
own  tongue  wherein  he  was  born,  the  high  praises  of  our 
God.  The  effect  was  overpowering.  It  was  the  voice  of  a 
great  multitude,  and  rose  up  like  the  sound  of  many  waters. 
Our  chapel  was  crowded  with  communicants,  and  our  hearts 
with  thoughts  too  big  for  utterance.  Had  Fisk  and  Parsons 
lived  to  see  this  day,  they  would  have  felt  like  the  aged 
Simeon,  when  his  eyes  had  seen  God's  great  salvation. 

It  is  now  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  since  we  have 
seen  the  good  land  of  our  fathers.  Shall  we  ever  see  it 
again  ?  It  is  not  probable  that  both  of  us  will  ever  set  our 
eyes  upon  it,  but  1  hope  that  both  will  at  length  see  "  a  bet 
ter  country,  even  an  heavenly."  My  own  health  has  failed 
the  last  year,  and  I  am  forced  to  consider  myself  an  invalid. 
I  am  thankful  that  I  have  been  able  to  continue  preaching, 
to  superintend  the  Eemale  Seminary,  and  perform  the  duties 
of  chaplain,  but  I  have  done  much  less  upon  my  Commentary 
than  1  had  hoped. 

I  am,  as  ever, 

Yours  truly, 

W.    GOODELL. 

To  two  of  his  former  fellow-students  he  addressed  a  letter, 
which  has  in  it  much  of  personal  interest,  —  personal  alike  to 
the  writer  and  to  those  to  whom  it  was  written :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  April  7, 1848. 

My  dear  brethren,  Spaulding  and  Win  slow,  greatly  beloved 
and  longed  for : 

I  remember  one  of  you  at  Andover,  the  other  at  Dart 
mouth  and  Andover,  and  both  of  you  at  Salem.  I  have  a 
daughter  at  Norwich,  and  Brother  Spaulding  has  a  daughter 
there,  and  I  have  just  been  reading  for  the  fourth  or  fifth 
time  (and  this  last  time  with  more  tenderness  and  tears  than 
ever  before)  the  memoirs  of  that  blessed  woman  from  Nor- 


884          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

wich,  who  was  Brother  Winslow's  companion  in  the  faith  and 
patience  of  the  saints.  It  is  now  nearly  thirty  years  since 
we  met.  I  am  growing  old,  and  so  must  you  be.  I  said,  I 
will  take  my  pen  and  write  my  good  brethren,  I  will  say  to 
them,  Be  of  good  courage,  the  night  is  far  spent,  the  day  is 
at  hand ;  let  us  be  laying  entirely  aside  what  will  answer  in 
the  dark,  and  be  putting  on  the  garments  which  the  light 
and  the  day  require. 

I  have  learned  several  things  since  I  saw  you :  — 

1.  That  a  great  deal  of  the  religion  that  I  used  to  carry 
about  with  me  I  had  received  from  man,  and  not  from  the 
Spirit  of  God. 

2.  That  sin  is  a  more  awful  thing,  and  leads  man  infinitely 
farther  from  God  and  goodness,  than  I  had  supposed  possi 
ble. 

3.  That  the  direct  influence  of  Satan  over  the  minds  of 
men  is  incomparably  more  powerful  and  destructive  than  I 
had  been  taught  to  believe. 

4.  That  human    suasion,  human    argument,  human    elo 
quence,  human  efforts,  education,  civilization,  have  in  them 
selves  no  more  efficacy  to  raise  dead  sinners  to  life  than  they 
have  to  call  the  dead  out  of  their  graves.     Oh,  how  impotent 
we  find  all  these  in  lands  unvisited  by  holy  influences ! 

5.  That  the  Gospel   is  all-powerful,  all-precious.     What 
language   can   express  its  power!   what  words  can  tell  its 
worth !     You  have  seen  in  India,  we  have  seen  in   Syria, 
what  it  can  do  when  preached  with  the  Holy   Ghost  sent 
down  from  heaven.     And  not  even  all  the  glowing  poetry  of 
Isaiah  exceeds  the  sober  reality. 

I  am  now  writing  a  Commentary,  I  will  not  say  on  the 
Bible,  for  I  have  no  expectation  of  living  to  complete  even 
one-half  of  the  New  Testament.  May  I  be  assisted  by  that 
same  unerring  Spirit  of  Truth,  under  which  the  Scriptures 
were  written.  I  lay  hold  without  any  ceremony  of  all  the 
thoughts  and  helps  I  can  find  in  any  quarter ;  but  still,  should 
any  one  on  reading  ask,  "  Whose  is  this  image  and  super 
scription  ?  "  I  presume  the  universal  answer  would  be,  "  It  is 
Goodell's."  It  is  to  be  published  in  both  Turkish  and  Arme 
nian.  Jn  preaching,  I  use  only  the  Turkish,  and  most  of  my 
brethren  use  only  the  Armenian.  They  are  both  of  them 
mighty  languages,  when  the  Holy  Spirit  puts  power  into  the 
word ;  otherwise,  they  are  insipid  enough.  Mrs.  Goodell  in 
her  old  age  is  learning  both  these  languages.  She  had  previ- 


PRINCE    OF   BEGGARS.  335 

ously  learned  the  Italian,  Arabic,  and  Greek,  but  of  these 
languages  the  Holy  Spirit  uses  only  the  last  in  these  parts, 
and  therefore  for  the  last  two  years,  since  she  has  had  the 
temporal  charge  and  I  the  chaplaincy  of  the  Female  Board 
ing-school,  she  has  with  the  vigor  and  success  of  youth  set 
about  to  acquire  these  two  new  languages. 

Since  I  saw  you  I  have  prayed  with  the  ardent  Byington 
in  the  woods  among  the  Choctaws  ;  I  have  seen  the  beloved 
Fisk  close  his  eyes  on  all  below,  and  go  to  the  bright  world 
above  ;  and  from  my  good  brother  Temple,  witli  whom  I 
studied  nine  years  and  with  whom  I  roomed  seven  years,  I 
am  at  length  separated.  The  providence  of  God  called  him 
to  return  to  America,  and  he  returned,  though  hard  for  flesh 
and  blood.  lie  is  a  good  man,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
in  whatever  manner  the  prince  of  this  world  comes  to  him, 
he  never  finds  any  thing  in  him. 

May  we  all  meet  above  !  May  we  be  for  ever  employed 
in  the  service  of  the  King  of  kings,  here  and  hereafter,  in 
time  and  eternity  !  Amen  and  amen. 

Thus  prays  your  affectionate  brother, 

TV.   GOODELL. 

If  Mr.  Goodell  had  been  called  to  devote  his  life  to  such  a 
service,  he  would  have  been  the  prince  of  beggars,  to  use  a 
.word  which  is  too  often  applied  to  those  who  present  the 
claims  of  Christ's  cause  to  His  people.  He  never  felt  that 
he  was  asking  a  personal  favor  in  asking  help  for  the  work 
in  which  he  was  engaged.  He  asked  with  as  much  dignity 
as  could  be  exercised  in  conferring  a  gift,  and  yet  he  neither 
made  a  demand,  nor  presented  any  request  in  an  offensive 
manner.  He  had  the  happy  faculty,  without  using  deceit  or 
artifice,  of  so  stating  what  was  wanted  as  to  confer  a  pleasure 
in  making  the  application,  and  of  causing  any  one  to  whom 
he  applied  to  feel  that  he  was  embracing  a  privilege  in  giv 
ing  what  was  asked.  The  following  letter  was  written  to  a 
clergyman  in  this  country  :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  June  1,  1848. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  Immediately  on  the  receipt  of  this, 
please  call  together  a  few  of  the  "  mighty  men  of  wealth  "  in 
the  city,  and  say  to  them,  "  Hear  now,  ye  rich  men !  this 


336          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

commandment  is  for  you."  God,  your  benevolent  Creator, 
says  the  silver  and  the  gold  are  all  His  ;  but  for  reasons 
known  only  to  Himself,  He  has  entrusted  some  of  it  for  a 
short  time  to  you.  Your  own  Redeemer  placed  it  as  a  sacred 
deposit  in  your  hands,  and  whenever  He  calls  for  the  whole, 
or  for  any  part  of  it,  He  expects,  and  has  a  right  to  expect,  that 
His  drafts  will  be  cheerfully  honored.  Whether  the  call  be 
now  from  Him,  whether  the  bill  now  presented  really  bear 
His  signature,  you  yourselves,  who  must  already  have  had 
many  transactions  of  this  kind  with  Him,  can  easily  deter 
mine,  especially  after  reading  the  following  letter  of  advice 
on  the  subject. 

There  are  now  seven  evangelical  churches  in  Turkey,  and, 
before  you  receive  this,  there  will  probably  be  eight.  These 
churches  of  the  living  God  have  nowhere  to  assemble  but 
"  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation,"  in  a  pri 
vate  house,  or  in  a  room  rented  for  the  purpose,  no  house  of 
prayer  having  been  yet  erected  for  any  of  them.  The  church 
of  Constantinople  was  organized  nearly  two  years  ago,  with 
forty  members,  and  sixty  have  since  been  added  to  it,  there 
having  been  additions  at  every  communion.  The  number  of 
those  that  belong  to  the  congregation  is  at  least  four  times  as 
large  as  the  number  of  those  that  belong  to  the  church,  and 
no  private  house  is  sufficiently  large  to  accommodate  them. 
"  Your  servants  for  Jesus'  sake,"  whom  you  have  sent  here 
to  invite  "  as  many  as  they  find"  to  the  Gospel  feast,  can  no 
longer  say  to  those  that  come,  "  And  yet  there  is  room  ;  "  but, 
in  direct  opposition  to  the  whole  spirit  of  Christianity,  our 
straitened  circumstances  declare  to  them  more  plainly  than 
words,  You  must  go  away  ;  there  is  no  more  room. 

A  house  of  God,  then,  is  imperiously  demanded.  A  lot 
for  the  purpose  has  already  been  purchased.  The  contract 
for  the  building  is  already  made.  The  house  will  absolutely 
be  built.  The  cost  will  be  ten  thousand  dollars.  The  money 
must  and  will  be  forthcoming.  You  will  see  the  bills  are 
drawn  at  sight.  Should  you  honor  them,  the  honesty  and  the 
reward  will  be  yours.  Your  own  precious  Redeemer,  who 
poured  out  His  own  soul  unto  death  to  save  yours,  has  such 
confidence  in  your  punctuality  and  uprightness  that  you  have 
the  honor  of  His  first  call.  His  first  drafts  are  on  you  ;  and 
surely  not  for  worlds  would  you  have  His  confidence  in  the 
stability  and  integrity  of  your  house  shaken. 

Should  it  be  asked  why  the  people  here  do  not  build  their 


SELF-SUSTENTATION.  337 

own  church,  the  answer  is,  they  have  suffered  the  loss  of  all 
things  for  Christ,  and  taken  joyfully  the  spoiling  of  their 
goods.  Some  of  them  are  not  even  yet  able  to  earn  their 
own  bread,  so  vigilant  are  their  enemies  to  distress  and  ruin 
them.  "  Now  at  this  time,  then,  let  your  abundance  be  a 
supply  for  their  want,  that  their  abundance  may  hereafter  be 
a  supply  for  your  want,"  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  in 
Oregon,  or  California. 

One  word  more.  Satan  has  a  house  of  worship  building 
here,  —  a  magnificent  theatre,  —  which  will  cost  at  least  one 
hundred  times  as  much  as  this  contemplated  church  of  the 
Redeemer.  Some  scores  of  men  have  been  employed  on  it 
for  many  months,  and  they  will  be  employed  for  mouths 
more.  This  also  is  built  by  subscription.  But  all  Satan's 
drafts  for  this  object  are  duly  honored.  We  have  not  heard 
of  a  single  bill  of  his  being  protested  here,  although  he  really 
has  no  funds  in  any  house. 

Now,  my  dear  brother,  we  have  no  more  words  to  say. 
If  any  more  are  necessary,  you  must  say  them.  But  we 
fully  expect  to  hear  that  those  on  whom  these  bills  are  drawn 
sat  down  immediately  and  wrote  "Accepted" and  said  at  once, 
"  Rise  up  and  build."  And  thus  all  that  any  future  historian 
of  these  transactions  will  have  to  add  will  be,  "  So  they 
strengthened  their  hands  for  this  good  work." 

Alleluia  !  Aineii !     Farewell. 

In  behalf  of  the  station, 

W.  GOODELL. 

To  this  were  appended  a  number  of  drafts  for  various 
amounts,  to  be  signed  with  the  names  of  the  cheerful  donors 
of  the  several  sums. 

From  his  very  entrance  upon  his  work  at  Constantinople, 
Mr.  Goodell  had  aimed  at  calling  forth  the  energies  of  the 
people  in  sustaining  pecuniarily  the  various  operations  that 
were  undertaken  for  their  benefit,  and  this  not  merely  as  a 
matter  of  economy,  but  in  order  that  they  might  appreciate 
their  privileges.  What  costs  nothing  is  little  valued  ;  and  it 
is  equally  true  that  those  who  have  expended  time  and  labor 
and  money  on  any  enterprise  will  naturally  look  for  some 
return  from  the  investment.  The  first  year  that  he  was  at 
Constantinople,  he  encouraged  the  Greeks  and  the  Turks  to 
15  v 


838          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

establish  their  own  schools,  while  he  furnished  the  plans  for 
carrying  them  on,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  books  and  teachers, 
for  which  they  were  expected  to  pay.  In  this  way  they  were 
made  altogether  responsible  for  keeping  up  the  schools. 

So,  when  churches  began  to  be  organized,  he  felt  that  it 
would  be  no  charity,  but  a  positive  injury,  for  the  mission  to 
assume  the  entire  control,  or  become  responsible  for  the 
expenses,  any  farther  than  was  absolutely  required  by  the 
necessities  of  the  case.  Native  pastors,  instead  of  mission 
aries,  were  placed  over  the  churches ;  the  people  took  part 
in  their  government ;  and  they  were  encouraged  to  contribute 
according  to  their  ability  to  the  support  of  the  pastors,  and 
to  other  needful  expenses  in  maintaining  the  institutions  of 
the  Gospel.  Soon  after  the  organization  of  the  first  church, 
Mr.  Goodell  says  :  — 

"  Recently  their  pastor  was  in  straitened  circumstances, 
and  applied  to  us  for  relief.  We  told  the  church  it  was  their 
duty  to  see  that  their  pastor  did  not  suffer,  and  we  informed 
them  of  the  donation  parties  in  New  England.  They  im 
mediately  took  up  the  subject  in  a  business-like  style,  and 
appointed  committees  to  receive  contributions  for  the  relief 
of  their  pastor.  One  member  of  the  female  seminary  was 
appointed  to  receive  what  the  pupils  were  disposed  to  give ; 
and,  to  our  great  surprise  and  gratitude,  they  brought  forward 
of  their  own  accord  between  three  and  four  dollars.  The 
next  day  I  spoke  to  them  on  the  privilege  and  duty  of  their 
doing  something  regularly  to  maintain  the  institutions  of 
religion  among  themselves.  I  told  them  that  after  this  year 
the  pastor  would  not  probably  look  to  us  for  any  part  of  his 
salary,  but  would  look  to  his  church  and  congregation  for 
the  whole,  and  that  they  must  be  ready  to  do  their  part.  In 
the  evening  they  all  came  running  to  me  with  money  in  their 
hands,  —  their  first  payment  for  this  object.  I  afterwards 
told  the  deacons  of  the  church  that,  if  they  would  now  under 
take  to  support  their  own  pastor,  I  was  sure  these  poor  girls 
could  with  their  needles,  even  while  members  of  the  school, 
raise  one-thirtieth,  if  not  one-twentieth,  of  the  funds  nec 
essary." 

Having  made  a  visit  to  the  interior,  where  churches  had 
been  organized,  he  wrote :  — 


CURTAILING.  339 

"  In  this  visit  we  labored  to  impress  on  the  minds  of  the 
churches  the  importance  of  supporting  entirely  their  own 
pastors  ;  and  not  only  so,  but  of  themselves  contributing  also 
to  send  the  Gospel  to  those  who  were  more  destitute  than 
themselves.  We  told  them  how  the  ladies  in  a  certain  town 
in  Connecticut  once  built  a  meeting-house  by  raising  onions ; 
and  we  charged  every  husband  who  owned  a  garden  to  give 
his  wife  a  corner  of  it,  that  she  might  at  once  begin  to  work 
in  it  for  Christ.  We  told  them  of  a  town  in  Massachusetts, 
in  which  the  good  people  in  a  time  of  great  distress  contrived 
to  support  their  pastor  by  sharing  with  him  whatever  they 
had  for  themselves,  one  and  another  sending  to  him  three 
candles,  thirty  nails,  some  beans,  a  few  hops,  two  quarts  of 
milk,  cloth  for  a  shirt,  a  broom,  half  a  dozen  pigeons,  &c. 
We  told  them  that,  if  there  should  be  an  increase  of 
fifteen  or  twenty  to  their  families  *  by  ordinary  generation  ' 
during  the  year,  they  would  be  able  to  support  them  all 
without  asking  for  the  charities  of  their  brethren ;  and  could 
they  not  therefore  support  one  whom  God  had  now  sent 
them  ?  " 

On  the  still  more  important  branch  of  this  subject,  that  of 
educating  the  people  to  an  independence  of  foreign  direction, 
by  withdrawing  that  control  as  speedily  as  possible,  he  wrote 
to  the  Secretary  of  the  Board,  in  reply  to  a  communication 
on  the  subject :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  Oct.  7,  1848. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  I  hope  you  may  not  find  it  nec 
essary  to  curtail  us  in  our  expenses  next  year ;  but,  should 
you  have  to  do  it,  would  it  not  be  better  to  leave  it  to  MS  to 
decide  in  what  particular  department  of  our  labors  this  cur 
tailment  must  be  made,  than  for  the  committee  to  do  it  at 
such  a  distance  ?  It  is  of  course  for  them  to  name  the  sum, 
if  in  the  providence  of  God  a  sum  must  be  named ;  but  ought 
it  not,  of  course,  to  be  expected  that  we  should  be  more 
capable  of  knowing  than  they,  where  the  reduction  will  ap 
pear  likely  to  produce  the  least  possible  injury  to  the  cause  ? 

With  the  drift  of  your  letter  to  the  mission  I  was  much 
pleased,  and  I  hope  you  will  follow  it  up  with  others,  urging 
us  not  to  keep  native  helpers  in  the  background  for  the  sake 
of  rendering  ourselves  apparently  indispensable  to  the  work, 
nor  to  delay  settling  native  pastors,  lest  we  ourselves  should 


340          FORTY   YEARS  IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

be  found  to  be  no  longer  necessary.  Even  though  in  a  given 
place  and  for  a  given  time  we  ourselves  should  do  better 
than  a  native  pastor,  still,  there  is  no  doubt  but  Christian 
economy  requires  that  a  native  pastor  be  immediately  settled ; 
and  that,  instead  of  managing  things  in  such  a  way  as  to 
stay  there  ourselves  as  long  as  we  can,  we  should  bring  for 
ward  the  pastor  in  such  a  way,  and  put  things  in  such  a  train, 
that  we  may  safely  leave  them  in  the  shortest  time  possible, 
and  go  somewhere  else.  Instead  of  acting  as  though  we 
were  to  be  the  pastors  and  have  the  control  of  these  churches, 
we  are  to  feel  that  our  work  is  to  prepare  others  to  sustain 
the  pastoral  office,  and  assume  all  its  responsibilities.  There 
is  danger,  I  think,  of  our  not  taking  this  view  of  the  subject, 
and  acting  with  sufficient  distinctness  in  reference  to  it.  At 
any  rate,  we  all  need  being  reminded  of  our  duty,  aud  being 
quickened  in  it. 

As  old  as  I  am,  I  hope  I  should  be  willing,  and  not  only 
willing,  but  ardently  desirous,  to  leave  my  present  situation 
as  soon  as  my  work  here  is  done,  and  go  where  duty  calls. 
And  this,  I  doubt  not,  is  the  feeling  of  every  brother  of  the 
whole  mission.  But  still  we  may  all,  without  special  care, 
be  too  slow,  and  I  think  we  are  too  slow,  in  shaping  and 
driving  our  labors  to  such  a  consummation. 

I  hope  to  be  able  to  write  you  next  week  of  various  events 
that  are  transpiring  here,  and  of  changes  that  are  passing 
over  us. 

Yours  most  truly, 

W.    GOODELL. 

The  promised  letter,  which  was  written  near  the  close  of 
the  month,  relates  principally  to  changes  in  the  personnel  of 
the  mission.  It  is  as  follows :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  Oct.  25,  1848. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  A  great  change  has  come  over 
us,  one  which  deeply  affects  our  families.  Those  of  us  who 
in  the  providence  of  God  have  been  thrown  together  in 
Pera  for  so  long  a  time,  and  who  have  passed  together 
through  so  many  thrilling  scenes  of  joy  and  grief,  who  have 
so  often  been  called  to  weep  and  pray  together,  and  to  ob 
serve  the  days  both  of  fasting  and  thanksgiving,  are  now 
in  the  same  good  providence  thrown  apart.  Our  prayer- 
meetings,  our  singing-meetings,  our  maternal  meetings,  our 


GREAT   CHANGES.  341 

family  gatherings,  our  social  interviews,  and  all  other  such 
pleasant  and  profitable  seasons  as  we  have  enjoyed  together 
these  many  years,  are  now  interrupted.  The  special  provi 
dence  of  God  has  separated  us.  His  eye  and  His  hand  seem 
to  be  specially  upon  us  in  this  change,  for  we  ourselves 
made  every  effort  to  prevent  it.  Mr.  Dwight's  family  has 
been  forced,  by  reason  of  ill  health,  away  to  Malta;  Messrs. 
I  lome  and  Schauffler's  by  tire  to  Bebek ;  and  only  Mr. 
Everett's  and  my  own  (the  eldest  and  the  youngest)  are 
suffered  to  remain  at  Pera.  Nor  is  there  any  apparent 
probability  that  we  shall  ever  again  be  associated  together 
in  Pera,  as  we  have  been  in  times  past.  For, 

A  great  change  has  come  over  the  place.  In  consequence  of 
the  frequent  arid  dreadful  conflagrations  (and  we  call  no  con 
flagration  dreadful  which  does  not  burn  over  some  ten,  fifteen, 
twenty,  or  more  acres  of  compactly  built  houses  at  a  time), 
and  in  consequence  of  the  rapidly  increasing  population,  from 
the  great  influx  of  the  rich  and  of  the  higher  classes  to  this 
quarter,  house-rent  in  Pera  has  become  enormously  dear, 
and  there  is  a  great  scarcity  of  water.  The  reservoirs  are 
altogether  inadequate  to  supply  water  for  such  a  multitude, 
and  were  never  intended  to  do  it. 

"A  great  change,  too,  has  taken  place  in  our  relations 
with  the  people.  Formerly  we  could  not  meet  them  at  their 
own  houses  without  exposing  them  to  the  severest  persecu 
tion,  nor  preach  to  them  in  a  public  manner,  except  in  Pera 
and  Galata ;  but  those  times  are  now  happily  passed  away. 
All  who  wished  to  hear  the  Gospel  preached  had  formerly 
to  come  to  us  at  Pera,  however  great  the  distance,  however 
bad  the  weather,  however  feeble  their  health,  and  however 
inconvenient  it  might  be  for  them  in  other  respects  ;  but  now 
they  can  have  meetings  in  their  own  immediate  neighbor 
hoods,  throughout  all  the  city  and  suburbs. 

"  But  still  further.  When  that  dreadful  persecution  com 
menced,  near  three  years  ago,  it  drove  all  the  persecuted  to 
Pera,  and  brought  them  near  to  us,  and  to  each  other.  Here 
they  had  an  opportunity  of  becoming  more  intimately  ac 
quainted  both  with  ourselves  and  with  each  other,  than  would 
have  been  possible  in  other  circumstances.  Here  they  prayed 
and  wept,  and  suffered  and  fasted,  and  rejoiced  together ; 
and  it  seemed  a  special  Providence  that  compelled  them, 
men,  women,  and  children,  to  be  not  only  '  of  one  accord,'  but 
also  '  in  one  place.'  But  in  the  providence  of  God  they  are  all 


342          FORTY   YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

now  separated ;  both  from  us  and  from  each  other  they  are 
scattered,  and  even  more  widely  than  before ;  but  we  hope 
that,  like  salt,  it  is  for  the  preservation  of  many  in  their 
respective  neighborhood.-;.  It  is  now  almost  an  impossible 
thing  for  them  all  to  come  together,  even  on  sacramental 
occasions.  The  consequence  is,  that  many  are  denied  the 
privilege  of  hearing  the  Gospel  preached  statedly  ;  that  some 
of  the  poor  widows  are  almost  necessarily  neglected  in  the 
ministration  of  the  word  and  of  charity ;  and  that  there  is 
danger  of  mutual  mistrust  and  clashing  interests  arising  out 
of  these  circumstances.  The  providence  of  God  seems  to  be 
forcing  us  all  to  the  full  impression  that  we  must  immedi 
ately  have  more  churches  and  more  pastors.  One  of  these 
will,  doubtless,  be  in  Hass-Keuy,  where  more  than  twenty 
members  of  the  church  with  their  families  already  reside, 
and  where  there  is  a  great  waking  up  of  a  spirit  of  inquiry 
among  their  neighbors.  Another  will,  of  course,  be  in  Con 
stantinople  proper.  But  I  need  not  anticipate  events  before 
they  are  fully  developed.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that,  instead  of 
regretting  these  changes,  we  are  the  rather  to  rejoice  in  them, 
and  to  hope  that  we  may  soon  have  a  dozen  evangelical 
churches  and  pastors  in  this  great  city,  even  though  the  more 
they  be  multiplied  the  less  our  services  shall  be  needed. 

I  am  myself  expecting  to  be  soon  laid  aside ;  and  I  work 
as  hard  as  I  can  every  day,  under  the  full  impression  that 
"  the  night  cometh."  To  labor  in  this  holy  cause  I  feel  to  be 
a  great  privilege ;  and  for  the  uncommonly  long  opportunity 
I  have  enjoyed,  and  the  great  forbearance  and  patience  of 
my  heavenly  Father,  I  desire  to  be  unfeignedly  thankful. 
Yours  most  truly, 

W.    GOODELL. 

Fire  and  plague  and  persecution  had  surrounded  the  mis 
sion  families  at  Constantinople  from  the  beginning,  and  only 
from  the  latter  were  they  personally  exempt,  while  even  in 
this  they  suffered  more  intensely  by  sympathy  than  in  all 
the  other  calamities.  The  plague  had  now  been  stayed,  but 
not  the  flames.  On  the  14th  of  October,  Mr.  Goodell 
writes  :  — 

"Soon  after  midnight,  on  the  morning  of  the  12th,  we 
were  again  alarmed  by  the  cry  of  "  fire  ! "  The  wind  was 


A    DISCOVERY.  343 

very  high,  and  the  fire  raged  terribly  for  four  or  five  hours  ; 
but  through  God's  great  mercy  the  chapel  and  boarding- 
school  were  again  preserved.  This  is  the  fifth  great  confla 
gration  we  have  had  immediately  around  us,  within  about  a 
year,  —  the  fifth  time  it  has  been  shouted  in  the  camp  of  the 
enemy  at  Constantinople  that  the  Protestant  chapel  was  in 
ashes  ;  the  fifth  time  an  unseen  hand  has  been  stretched  out 
to  arrest  the  raging  element,  and  hold  it  back  from  devouring 
us.  And  now  we  have,  almost  literally,  '  a  wall  of  fire  round 
about  us  for  a  defence  ; '  that  is,  we  are,  humanly  speaking, 
much  more  safe  from  conflagration  than  though  these  terrible 
devastations  had  not  been  made  about  us.  '  The  Lord  liveth, 
and  blessed  be  our  Rock ;  and  let  the  God  of  our  salvation 
be  exalted.' " 

The  following  passage  occurs  in  a  familiar  letter  to  one  of 
his  fellow-laborers  :  — 

"  I  have  just  made  a  discovery.  In  reading  the  second 
chapter  of  Genesis,  in  Hebrew,  1  was  struck  with  the  fact 
that  four  different  words  are  employed  to  express  the  work 
of  bringing  the  world  and  mankind  into  existence.  In  the 
third  verse,  the  two  words  employed  are  '  created  and  made.' 
In  the  seventh  verse,  the  word  employed  in  reference  to  the 
formation  of  man  is  one  peculiar  to  a  potter's  business.  The 
work,  you  know,  is  all  done  without  tools.  The  potter  takes 
a  lump  of  clay,  and  presses  it  with  his  hands,  pushing  out  a 
protuberance  there,  and  making  an  indentation  here,  taking 
off  a  little  in  one  place,  and  sticking  on  a  patch  in  another, 
dipping  his  hands  frequently  in  water,  and  thus  working  up 
the  clay  into  the  shape  of  something.  But  in  the  twenty- 
second  verse,  the  word  used  is  one  that  belongs  to  an  archi 
tect,  who  takes  his  fine-edged  tools,  —  his  plane  and  handsaw 
and  gauge  and  chisel  and  adze,  —  and  erects  a  splendid  palace. 
Thus,  from  '  the  rib,  which  the  Lord  God  had  taken  from 
man,  He  built  up  a  woman/  —  the  last,  the  best,  the  finishing 
stroke." 

The  commencement  of  the  year  1849  was  marked  by 
another  special  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the 
female  seminary.  There  was  a  great  increase  of  spirituality 
and  of  prayer  among  those  who  had  professed  themselves 
Christians,  and  among  others  an  increased  attention  to  the 


344  FORTY  YEARS   IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

concerns  of  the  soul.     Mr.  Goodell  makes  mention  of  the 
state  of  things  under  date  of  April  5  :  — 

"  Two  of  the  pupils  had  just  begun  to  express  a  decided 
hope  that  Christ  was  theirs,  when  the  news  of  the  revival  at 
Oroomiah  reached  us,  and  greatly  deepened  the  religious 
feeling  already  existing.  The  pupils  from  day  to  day  peti 
tioned  for  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer ;  but  so  intense  was 
the  feeling  already  developed,  that  we  did  not  dare  appoint 
such  a  day.  And,  indeed,  while  the  Bridegroom  was  with 
us,  why  should  we  fast?  In  less  than  a  week  all  our 
beloved  pupils,  excepting  five  of  the  youngest,  were  appar 
ently  brought  out  into  light  as  bright  as  the  brightest  day. 

*  God  is  my  Father,  and  I  am  happy,'  said  one  poor  orphan. 

*  Bring  all  the  school  together,  that  I  may  tell  them  what 
God  has  done  for  me,'  said  another  orphaned  child,  a  sister 
of  the  former.     '  Yes,  yes,  I  know  I  love  my  Saviour,'  ex 
claimed,  with  great  earnestness,  one  sweet  girl,  who  has  al 
ways  been  very  careful  not  to  express  more  than  she  really 
felt.     '  The  world  cannot  give,  and  the  world  cannot  take 
away,  my  joy,'  said  another.     '  Prayer  is  so  sweet,  I  do  not 
like  to  leave  that  spot  for  any  other,'  said  a  fifth.     *  I  prayed 
for  this,  but  I  hardly  belived  it  would  ever  again  be,'  said 
one  and  another  of  those  who  were  converted  in  the  former 
revival. 

"  Oh,  what  a  blessed  change  do  we  now  see  and  feel !  The 
mountains  have  melted  like  wax  in  the  presence  of  the  Lord. 
Every  one  of  the  scholars  is  made  still  and  thoughtful ; 
every  voice  is  subdued  and  kind  ;  every  countenance  is  sweet 
and  pleasant,  and  the  whole  aspect  of  the  school  is  most 
heavenly.  The  chills  of  winter  are  past,  and  the  beautiful 
spring  has  come.  The  nightingale  has  begun  its  sweet  notes 
in  our  gardens,  and  all  the  trees  of  the  field  are  putting  forth 
their  green  leaves  and  their  fragrant  blossoms.  The  voice 
of  the  turtle  is  again  heard  in  our  land,  and  from  the  earliest 
dawn  till  late  at  night  the  joyful  sound  of  prayer  and  praise 
continually  salutes  our  ears. 

"  Six  of  our  pupils  were  professors  of  religion  before  this, 
—  all  but  one  fruits  of  the  former  revival ;  and  six  others 
have  now,  in  the  judgment  of  charity,  been  quickened  and 
made  alive  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God.  Three  of  them  were 
here  in  the  former  revival ;  and  the  two  who  are  mentioned 
above  as  having  begun  a  week  ago  to  feel  more  assured  of  their 


MISSION   CHURCH.  345 

acceptance,  we  ourselves  have  always  seen  some  reason  to  hope 
were  converted  in  that  revival  ;  but  their  own  hopes,  never 
at  any  time  strong,  were  in  general  so  feeble  that  they  were 
never  received  into  the  church.  But,  at  any  rate,  they  are 
received  now  ;  the  church-members,  too,  are  revived  ;  all  are 
revived ;  and,  in  truth,  I  believe  we  may  say,  that  we  are  all 
subjects  of  the  revival." 

Near  the  beginning  of  this  year  Mr.  Goodell  was  chosen 
pastor  of  the  mission  church  (comprising  the  missionaries  and 
their  families),  of  which  he  makes  the  following  record  :  — 

"February  17,  1849.  Our  missionary  church  organization 
has  been  recently  remodelled,  and  to-day  I  was  chosen  pastor, 
and  Messrs.  Schauffler  and  Everett,  deacons.  On  account  of 
my  age  and  infirmities  ;  on  account  of  my  already  crushing 
responsibilities  and  labors,  from  which  I  greatly  needed 
relief  rather  than  to  assume  additional  ones  ;  on  account 
of  having  been  nearly  twenty-seven  years  absent  from 
America,  having  never  exercised  the  pastoral  office,  and 
having  entirely  forgotten  all  I  ever  knew  about  it,  and  being 
wholly  unfit,  —  I  begged  the  brethren  to  excuse  me;  but 
they  urged  me  so  much  to  take  it,  at  least  for  a  while,  that  I 
finally  consented.  May  the  Lord  smile  upon  us  and  help  us 
and  bless  us,  in  these  our  new  relations  and  duties ! " 

In  the  month  of  May,  1849,  in  company  with  Mr.  Ilamlin, 
Mr.  Goodell  visited  Ada  Bazar,  to  assist  in  the  ordination  of 
a  pastor.  In  passing  through  Nicomedia,  where  he  had  been 
in  1832,  the  circumstances  of  his  first  visit  were  forcibly 
brought  to  mind,  in  contrast  with  those  of  the  present.  He 
saw  now  the  fruits  of  the  handful  of  seed  he  then  scattered 
by  the  way,  not  by  the  way-side  in  the  sense  of  the  parable. 
It  was  here  that  a  copy  of  "  The  Dairyman's  Daughter," 
which  he  had  translated  into  Armeno-Turkish,  and  which  he 
gave  to  a  stranger,  had  been  blessed  to  the  conversion  of 
many  souls,  and  led  to  the  founding  of  the  church.  He 
writes :  — 

"We  went  by  steam   to  Nicomedia,  and  reached  there 
early  enough  to  attend  the  lecture  at  six,  P.M.,  preparatory 
to  the  communion.     Baron  Harfttun,  the  pastor,  addressed 
15* 


346          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

the  members  of  his  church  on  the  theme  appropriate  to  the 
occasion.  He  called  upon  the  teacher  of  the  school  to  offer 
the  first  prayer,  and  upon  Harutun,  the  former  noted  priest 
there,  to  offer  the  last.  The  tunes  sung  were  "  Hebron  "  and 
"  Illinois,"  and  the  music  was  well  performed. 

"  The  next  day  was  the  Sabbath,  and  a  beautiful  day. 
With  great  impatience  I  waited  for  the  hour  of  morning 
prayer,  and  when  it  came,  '  I  was  glad  when  they  said  unto 
me,  let  us  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord.'  Being  four  min 
isters  of  the  New  Testament,  and  having  Baron  Vertanes 
and  Baron  Harutun  also  with  us,  we  attracted  some  atten 
tion  in  the  street.  One  boy  could  not  refrain  from  running 
behind  a  tree  at  a  considerable  distance  and  crying  out, 
/Protestant,  Protestant.'  I  turned  and  looked  after  him, 
not  to  curse  him  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  but  to  pray  that 
the  poor  fellow  might  himself  soon  become  a  partaker  of  the 
blessings  of  the  everlasting  covenant.  During  the  day  we 
had  one  exposition  of  the  Scriptures  and  two  sermons,  the 
Lord's  Supper  was  administered,  five  persons  were  received 
into  the  church,  and  three  children  were  baptized. 

"  The  church  now  consists  of  more  than  forty  members, 
nearly  one-half  of  whom  are  females,  and  all  appeared  to  be 
*  walking  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord  and  in  the  comfort  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.'  They  have  a  good  school  of  thirty-five  chil 
dren,  boys  and  girls,  the  teacher  being  from  Bebek  semi 
nary,  and  a  great  helper  to  the  pastor  in  his  work.  The 
whole  Protestant  community  there  numbers  about  two  hun 
dred  souls,  men,  women,  and  children,  and  some  of  them  are 
men  of  more  age,  experience,  and  character  than  I  expected 
to  find. 

"  I  was  at  Nicomedia  with  Commodore  Porter  seventeen 
years  ago,  and  spent  one  night  and  part  of  a  day  there ;  but 
I  did  not  become  acquainted  with  a  single  individual,  and  had 
very  little  opportunity  of  saying  any  thing  to  any  one  on 
spiritual  subjects.  I  however  left  for  the  priest  who  showed 
us  the  church  an  Armeno-Turkish  Testament,  which  I  had 
recently  prepared  at  Malta,  and  to  our  guide  and  others  I 
gave  a  few  tracts  in  the  same  language.  These,  so  far  as 
appears,  were  read  without  profit  by  those  who  first  received 
them  ;  but  they  passed  into  other  hands,  were  read  with  deep 
attention,  and  under  God  were  the  means  of  awakening  such 
a  spirit  of  earnest  inquiry  after  truth  and  salvation,  as  no 
persecution  has  been  able  to  hold  in  check.  '  And  thus/  I 


ADA   BAZAR.  347 

said  to  them  in  my  remarks  at  the  communion  table  at 
this  time,  '  the  seed  that  was  sown  in  much  weakness  has 
sprung  up,  and  my  own  eyes  are  this  day  permitted  to  see 
the  fruit.  And  instead  of  now  going,  as  in  my  former  visit, 
to  see  the  ruined  temples  and  palace  of  the  Emperor  Dio 
cletian,  I  came  into  this  beautiful  garden  of  the  Lord,  to 
regale  myself  with  the  buds  and  blossoms  and  fruits  of 
these  trees  of  righteousness.'  I  told  .them  I  felt  greatly 
sncouraged  by  what  I  had  seen,  and  was  resolved  hereafter, 
tvherever  I  go,  to  '  sow  beside  all  waters,'  and  I  hoped  my 
present  visit  to  them  would  be  attended  with  as  great  a 
blessing  as  the  former,  though  there  was  no  probability  I 
should  live  seventeen  years  more  to  come  and  see  the  re 
mits. 

"  On  Monday  we  went  to  Ada  Bazar,  nine  hours  from 
Nicomedia.  The  pastor  of  the  church  at  Nicomedia  could 
aot  leave  his  family,  but  eighteen  or  twenty  of  the  brethren 
Df  that  place  accompanied  us,  some  on  foot  and  some  on 
aorses,  one  man  on  an  ass,  the  rest  in  an  ox-cart.  The 
country  through  which  we  passed  is  beautiful,  and  were  it 
aot  for  the  insecurity  of  property  and  life,  it  would  be  teem 
ing  with  population  and  full  of  activity  and  happiness.  The 
pillages  now  are  few  and  very  miserable,  and  the  roads  in 
nariy  places  almost  impassable ;  but  let  Christ  come  and  set 
up  His  kingdom  there,  and  how  will  all  those  fields  rejoice ; 
these  hills  be  joyful  together,  even  to  their  very  summits ; 
these  streams  that  rush  down  from  the  mountains  lift  up 
;heir  voice  with  singing ;  these  dense  forests  be  filled  with 
gladness,  and  the  very  rocks  and  woods  clap  their  hands  for 
joy  !  When  Christ  comes,  all  blessings  come  with  Him  ;  arid 
;he  journey  which  now  requires  nine  hours  of  great  discom 
fort  and  fatigue,  will  then  be  accomplished  in  one  hour,  with 
ill  comfort  and  without  fatigue.  '  Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come 
quickly,  and  take  possession  of  this  whole  country,'  begins 
low  to  be  the  prayer  of  not  a  few." 

After  a  very  interesting  account  of  their  arrival  and  wel 
come  at  Ada  Bazar,  of  the  prosperous  condition  in  which 
;hey  found  the  infant  church,  of  the  struggles  and  persecu 
tions  through  which  the  Protestants  had  passed,  and  of  the 
ordination  services  which  were  attended  by  a  great  congre 
gation  of  the  people,  he  proceeds  :  — 


348  FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

"  No  wonder,  then,  that  the  rage  of  the  enemy  should  be 
excessive,  and  that  in  the  usual  way  of  bribes  they  should 
instigate  the  governor  of  the  city  to  acts  of  violence.  In  the 
evening,  after  the  ordination,  we  learned  that  all  our  brethren 
from  Nicomedia  were  thrown  into  prison,  and  that  all  their 
horses  and  most  of  ours  were  seized  and  taken  away,  and 
that  even  the  cafegee,  a  Turk  who  took  care  of  our  horses, 
was  beaten  and  his  feet  made  fast  in  the  stocks  for  daring  to 
harbor  even  the  animals  of  such  thieves  and  robbers  as  our 
selves.  It  was  only  after  repeated  remonstrances  to  the 
governor,  and  strong  representations  of  the  sad  consequences 
to  himself,  of  this  course,  that  we  and  our  friends  were  able 
to  leave  the  place  at  ten  o'clock  the  next  morning." 

Still  another  great  conflagration  occurred  at  Constantino 
ple,  in  June,  1849  :  — 

"July  5,  1849.  Another  terrible  fire  at  Pera,  which,  on 
the  morning  of  the  2Gth  ult.,  consumed  about  four  hundred 
houses.  It  did  not  sweep  over  any  part  that  was  burned 
last  year,  but  it  took  all  below,  towards  Tatavala.  We  were 
roused  from  sleep  a  little  after  midnight,  and  found  the  fire 
much  nearer  to  us  than  any  of  the  last  year's  great  confla 
grations  were  at  their  commencement.  As  the  wind,  though 
providentially  light,  was  in  the  right  direction  to  bring  it 
upon  us,  we  immediately  began  to  move  our  effects.  First, 
however,  I  retired  to  my  room,  and  committed  to  the  Lord, 
or  rather  gave  back  to  Him,  our  houses,  chapel,  school,  and 
all,  and  then  went  to  work  for  the  Lord  with  great  presence 
of  mind.  A  little  after  four  o'clock,  Mr.  Everett's  family 
and  my  own  had  secured  every  thing  belonging  to  us  and  to 
the  school.  Just  at  this  time  the  fire  was  checked,  and  just  at 
this  time  the  wind  arose  and  blew  fresh  and  scattered  upon 
us  and  around  us  coals  of  fire,  in  such  a  shower  that  our 
houses  for  a  short  time  were  in  much  danger.  But  we  and 
our  neighbors  threw  water  abundantly,  and  extinguished  the 
fire  wherever  it  caught,  and  thus  by  the  good  hand  of  our 
God  upon  us  we  were  preserved  from  the  devouring  element. 

Our  houses,  however,  were  in  such  a  state  that  we  had  no 
place  where  to  kneel  down  for  prayer,  and  both  our  families 
repaired  to  the  chapel,  and  gave  thanks  to  God  that  our  holy 
place  of  worship,  where  so  many  spiritual  blessings  had  been 
bestowed,  was  not  <  burnt  with  fire,'  and  that  *  all  our  pleasant 


SPIRITUAL    OBTUSENESS. 


349 


things  were  not  laid  waste/  Some  of  those  who  rushed  by 
us  at  the  time  of  the  fire  were  overheard  to  say,  *  These 
houses  never  burn.'  But  when  the  great  Head  of  the  church 
shall  no  longer  wish  our  school  and  chapel  to  be  here,  these 
houses  will  be  found  as  combustible  as  any  others." 

The  inquiry  made  in  the  following  paragraph,  in  -efercnce 
to  an  earthquake  "passing  through  the  place,"  though  at 
first  view  having  the  appearance  of  a  jest,  is  a  strikingly 
accurate  description  of  the  impression  sometimes  made  by 
this  occurrence.  It  is  contained  in  a  letter  to  a  missionary 
at  Smyrna :  — 

"  Constantinople,  April  20,  1850.  Two  shocks  of  an 
earthquake  were  felt  here  last  night.  Do  the  earthquakes 
at  Smyrna  seem  to  be  right  under  you,  or  do  they  seem  to 
be  only  passing  through  the  place?  How  small  one  feels  to 
be  thus  taken  up  and  shaken  by  the  Almighty  !  *  The  pillars 
of  heaven  tremble,  and  are  astonished  at  His  reproof ! ' ' 

A  case  which  he  records,  April  25,  1850,  illustrates  at  once 
his  own  aptness  and  ingenuity  in  presenting  divine  truth,  and 
the  spiritual  obtuseness  and  ignorance  of  those  who  are 
brought  up  under  the  sensuous  teachings  of  the  Oriental 
churches :  — 

"  A  few  days  since  I  was  visited  by  an  Armenian  of  decent 
appearance,  who  appeared  to  be  about  thirty  years  of  age. 
He  had  heard,  he  said,  a  great  deal  of  our  benevolent 
deeds ;  and,  after  pouring  out  more  than  the  usual  profusion 
of  compliments,  and  going  round  about  rather  more  than  the 
usual  number  of  miles  in  coming  to  the  point,  he  finally  de 
clared  the  object  of  his  visit  to  be,  that  I  would  send  him  to 
America,  and  educate  him  at  one  of  our  very  best  colleges. 
I  told  him  that  it  was  out  of  my  power  to  do  any  thing  of 
the  kind ;  and  that,  if  I  had  the  power,  I  should  still  not 
have  the  disposition  ;  for  that,  as  a  general  thing,  it  was  much 
better  for  persons  to  be  educated  at  home  than  abroad.  At 
this  he  expressed  the  greatest  disappointment,  and  said, 
America  was  such  a  blessed  country,  had  prospered  so  many 
years  without  a  king,  and  had  such  liberty  and  such  privi 
leges,  that  he  must  absolutely  go  there. 


350          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

"  But  there  is  a  better  country  than  that,  I  replied. 
America,  good  as  it  is,  after  all  is  not  perfect ;  various  evils 
exist  there ;  some  of  the  people  there  are  proud,. and  some 
are  selfish ;  briers  and  thorns  grow  there ;  the  weather  is 
sometimes  too  hot  or  too  cold,  too  wet  or  too  dry ;  there  is 
more  or  less  of  poverty  ;  sickness  is  found  there ;  and  there 
is  a  graveyard  near  every  town.  But  in  that  better  country 
of  which  I  speak  not  a  single  one  of  all  these  evils  exists ; 
not  a  brier  is  found  there ;  the  inhabitants  are,  all  of  them, 
just  as  kind  and  benevolent  as  you  could  possibly  wish  them 
to  be ;  no  one  there  suffers  want ;  no  one  — 

"  But  I  want  an  education ;  are  there  any  schools  there  ? 

"  There  is  not  an  uneducated  person  there,  for  every  one 
is  furnished  with  the  very  best  of  teachers  free  of  cost,  and, 
of  course,  can  hardly  fail  of  becoming  learned  in  every 
department  of  knowledge.  I  was  going  to  say  that  there 
is  not  a  single  pauper  there  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  every  one 
is  rich ;  that  no  one  there  ever  lies  down  and  says,  '  I  am 
sick,'  but  on  the  contrary,  every  one  enjoys  perfect  health 
the  whole  year  round ;  that  though  it  has  been  long  settled, 
no  grave  has  ever  yet  been  opened  there,  nor  has  any  sign 
of  death  ever  yet  been  seen  there ;  and  — 

"  But  where  is  that  country  ?  Is  it  beyond  ?  —  no,  it  can 
not  be  beyond  America,  for  that  is  Tchin  me  Tchin  (China). 

"  No,  it  is  not  beyond  America,  nor  is  it  exactly  that  way. 
But  I  was  going  to  say  that  every  man  there  is  really  like  a 
king,  and  lives  in  a  great  palace,  and  abounds  with  every 
comfort. 

"  But  where  is  that  country  ? 

"  Have  you  never  read  any  thing  of  it  ? 

"  Never. 

"  Have  you  never  heard  of  it  ? 

"  Never. 

"  If  I  tell  you  where  it  is,  will  you  begin  to  make  imme 
diate  preparation  to  go  there  ? 

"  To  be  sure  I  will,  but  how  much  will  it  cost  to  get  there  ? 

"  Probably  not  so  much  as  to  go  to  America.  To  go  to 
America  will  require,  on  the  least  calculation,  from  eighty 
to  one  hundred  dollars  ;  but  I  have  known  persons  go  to  this 
*  better  country '  for  less  than  half  that  sum.  Indeed,  the 
ruler  of  the  country  is  so  desirous  to  have  emigrants  come 
from  every  part  of  the  world,  that  he  offers  to  pay  their 
passage,  to  take  upon  himself  the  whole  charge  of  their  get- 


TWENTY-EIGHT    YEARS.  351 

ting  there,  and  of  making  most  handsome  provision  for  them 
after  their  arrival. 

"  But  where  is  that  country  ?     Pray  tell  me. 

"  After  giving  him  various  descriptions  of  it,  and  finding 
he  had  no  more  spiritual  understanding  than  the  woman  of 
Samaria,  I  at  length  told  him  it  was  the  *  better  country, 
even  an  heavenly.'  But  even  this  Scripture  expression  he 
did  not  apprehend,  and  I  had  to  tell  him  in  plainest  language 
that  it  was  heaven  itself.  He  immediately  clapped  his  hands 
to  his  head  in  utter  astonishment,  as  though  the  eyes  of  his 
understanding  had  been  opened  for  the  first  time.  After  a 
few  moments  I  continued,  Will  you  go  there  ?  I  have  come 
to  this  country  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  turn  the  atten 
tion  of  men  to  that,  and  to  encourage  and  help  them  on  their 
way  by  every  means  in  my  power.  Will  you  go  there,  and 
be  eternally  rich  and  happy  ? 

"  He  was  still  silent ;  and  after  a  pause  I  added,  When 
you  lie  down  to-night,  remember  you  have  had  an  invitation 
to  go  to  that  blessed  country,  and  the  offer  of  having  all 
your  expenses  paid.  When  you  awake  in  the  morning,  let 
your  first  thought  be  on  this  subject ;  and  delay  not  to  make 
up  your  mind,  whether  you  will  go  or  not. 

"  He  sat  and  thought,  with  his  head  down,  and  said  little ; 
and  when  he  left  he  was  followed  by  a  prayer,  that  this 
strange  conversation  might  be  the  means  of  waking  up  a 
new  and  sanctifying  train  of  thought  in  the  man's  mind. 
And  let  all  to  whom  this  story  shall  be  told  pray  for  the 
same  thing." 

November  19,  1850,  he  writes:  — 

"  It  is  twenty -eight  years  this  blessed  day  since  I  took  to 
wife  Abigail,  the  daughter  of  Lemuel  the  Holdenite,  who 
has  borne  me  four  sons  and  five  daughters,  and  who  has  been 
my  loving  and  faithful  companion  in  all  my  removings  and 
sojourniugs  in  the  East.  Almost  half  of  my  own  life,  and 
more  than  half  of  hers,  has  been  Oriental.  Goodness  and 
mercy  have  followed  us  in  all  our  Eastern  pilgrimage.  And 
such  is  the  low  estate  of  our  mission  at  present,  that  were  it 
not  for  seeing  and  blessing  our  dear  children  in  America,  I 
should  at  once  give  up  all  idea  of  ever  again  seeing  my  native 
home,  and  should  set  my  face  directly  and  for  ever  towards 
that  '  better  country,  even  an  heavenly.'  Well,  let  us  do  it 
now.  Wherever  we  are,  whatever  we  do,  let  us  not  forget 


352          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

that  we  are  on  our  way  to  the  promised  land.     May  all  our 
children  go  with  us." 

Of  a  children's  celebration  of  the  4th  of  July  he  wrote :  — 

PERA,  July  13,  1850. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  We  did  not  observe  the  fourth  of 
July  this  year.  I  just  recollect,  however,  that  the  children 
at  Bebek  observed  the  day,  and  that  I,  happening  by  chance 
to  pass  that  way,  gave  them  a  speech  on  the  glorious  pros 
pects  of  America,  telling  them  that  if  the  United  States 
should  increase  in  population  for  the  next  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years,  as  it  has  for  the  last  fifty,  there  will  then  be  more 
people  in  the  United  States  than  there  are  now  in  the  whole 
world.  The  children,  however,  seemed  so  much  more  inter 
ested  in  increasing  the  number  of  their  squibs,  than  in  the 
increase  of  the  population  of  America,  that  I  was  very  brief. 
Mr.  H.  then  tried  to  read  to  them  a  part  of  a  printed  oration, 
but  with  no  better  success.  I  do  not  think  one  of  them 
remembers  the  shortest  word  in  it,  not  even  is  or  of.  There 
is,  however,  this  to  be  said,  that,  though  rather  noisy,  they 
all  seemed  perfectly  sober,  and  all  got  home  in  season  with 
out  any  of  them  being  intoxicated.  I  remember  but  one 
toast,  and  that  was  given  by  myself,  and  drunk  by  myself 
alone  to  a  full  bumper  of  Adam's  wine,  viz. :  — 

"  The  day  we  celebrate." 

The  rest  were  so  intent  on  celebrating  the  day,  they  could 
not  stop  to  drink  it.  The  greater  part,  however,  joined  in 
singing,  'kMy  country,  'tis  of  thee,"  under  that  very  able 
Germauo-American  chorister,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Schaufiler. 

Your  brother, 

AY.  GOODELL. 

In  November,  1850,  a  charter  was  granted  to  the  Protes 
tants  by  "His  Imperial  Majesty,  Sultan  Abdul  Medjid," 
completing  and  confirming  their  distinct  organization  as  a 
civil  community,  and  securing  to  them  equal  religious  rights 
with  the  older  Christian  organizations.*  The  firman  of 
1847,  having  been  issued  only  under  the  ministerial  authority 
of  the  Porte,  was  liable  to  be  withdrawn  on  a  change  of 
ministry,  or  by  imperial  command ;  but  the  decree  of  1 850 

*  See  Appendix. 


PROTESTANT    CHARTER. 


353 


came  from  the  Sultan  himself,  and  was  of  supreme  and  per 
manent  authority.  It  secured  perpetually  to  the  Protestants 
the  right  of  choosing  their  own  head,  of  transacting  business, 
of  worship,  of  burial,  free  from  all  molestation,  and  promised 
to  them  protection  by  the  imperial  government  against  per 
secution. 

On  the  issuing  of  this  firman,  Mr.  Goodell  wrote :  "  I 
have  seen  Sir  Stratford,  and  at  his  request  gathered  together 
the  nobles  of  the  Protestant  community,  and  sent  them  to 
him  to  go  to  the  Porte  and  receive  their  Magna  Charta  as 
a  distinct  community.  May  they  be  a  holy  nation,  a  peculiar 
people,  zealous  of  good  works." 


354          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

IN  the  spring  of  1851,  Mr.  Goodell  revisited  his  native 
land,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Goodell  and  two  of  his 
daughters.  This  was  a  pleasure  which  he  had  scarcely  ever 
anticipated  during  the  thirty  years  that  he  had  spent  in  in 
cessant  and  arduous  labor  in  the  East.  It  was  not  of  his 
own  motion,  even  then,  that  he  came,  but  at  the  invitation 
of  the  Prudential  Committee  of  the  Board,  to  whom  he  wrote 
in  reply :  — 

"  The  idea  of  visiting  my  native  land  has  hardly  so  much 
as  passed  through  my  mind  for  many,  many  years.  I  doubt 
whether  the  patriarchs  ever  thought  less  of  returning  to  '  that 
country  from  whence  they  came  out '  than  I  have  of  revisit 
ing  my  native  country,  and  now  '  what  1  shall  choose  I  wot 
not.'  Should  the  Spirit  take  me  by  the  locks  of  my  hair  and 
lift  me  up  between  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  as  lie  did  the 
prophets,  and  offer  to  carry  me  wherever  I  might  please  to 
go,  I  should  beg  Him  to  decide  the  matter  for  me,  or  else 
set  me  down  again.  '  Where  He  appoints  I'll  go/  and  what 
He  appoints  I'll  try  and  do." 

To  his  friend  Judge  Cooke  he  wrote  somewhat  more 
freely  in  regard  to  the  reasons  which  induced  him  to  accept 
the  invitation  :  — 

"  Should  I  not  go  to  my  Father's  house  above,  I  may 
return  to  see  once  more  the  land  of  my  fathers  here  below. 
Suffice  it  to  say,  the  Prudential  Committee  have  invited  me 
to  return  and  show  my  face  to  my  friends  and  the  churches. 
This  invitation  I  am  disposed  to  accept,  though  not  so  soon 
by  a  year  as  they  proposed.  I  cannot  well  leave  this  year, 
but  possibly  I  may  be  able  to  do  it  the  next.  In  the  mean 
time,  pray  that  if  I  come,  it  may  be  both  to  receive  and  to 
impart  a  blessing.  I  feel  that  I  need  a  new  fitting  up,  both 


LEAVING    FOR   AMERICA.  355 

in  body  and  spirit.  I  need  to  have  a  new  varnish,  both  on 
my  mind  and  manners.  I  need  an  entirely  new  set  of  teeth, 
for  I  have  preached  and  sung  away  almost  every  one  of  the 
old  ones.  I  need  to  catch  the  spirit  of  the  latter  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  for  I  brought  away  with  me  only  that 
of  the  former  half.  And  more  than  all  do  I  need  an  unction 
from  the  Holy  One.  I  have  also  three  beloved  children  in 
that  land  whom  I  long  to  see,  that  I  may  '  impart  to  them 
some  spiritual  gift,  to  the  end  that  they  may  be  established.' 
Two  others  we  shall  bring  with  us  to  leave  there,  and  three 
we  shall  leave  behind  with  our  friends,  who  require  them  as  a 
pledge  of  our  return.  But  who  knows  what  shall  be  on  the 
morrow.  *  Only  let  your  conversation  be  such  as  it  becometh 
the  Gospel  of  Christ,  that  whether  I  come  and  see  you,  or 
else  be  absent,  I  may  hear  of  your  affairs  that  ye  stand  fast 
in  one  spirit,  with  one  mind,  striving  together  for  the  faith 
of  the  Gospel.' " 

Not  until  he  had  formally  asked  the  advice  of  the  brethren 
with  whom  he  was  associated  in  the  mission  at  Constantino 
ple,  nor  until  he  was  assured  that  in  their  judgment  it  was 
his  duty  to  accept  the  invitation  of  the  Board,  did  he  come  to 
a  decision.  Their  concurrence  was  most  cordial,  and  he  re 
ceived  from  all  a  hearty  God-speed,  in  the  expectation  of  his 
speedy  return.  From  many  of  the  brethren  connected  with 
the  other  missions  did  he  receive  the  same  expressions  of 
affection,  of  interest  in  his  anticipated  pleasure  of  seeing  once 
more  the  home  of  his  fathers,  and  of  earnest  desire  for  his 
safe  return. 

As  he  was  leaving  he  received,  among  other  parting  notes, 
the  following  from  his  beloved  friend  and  associate,  Rev. 
Mr.  Schauffler:- 

BEBEK,  May  9,  1851. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  I  suppose  everybody  wants  to 
drop  you  a  last  line  before  you  go.  But  I  have  a  special 
reason  and  apology,  as  I  have  taken  no  formal  leave  from 
you  on  your  leaving  here.  And  now  this  "  good-by  "  makes 
me  think  of  my  first  visit  in  your  house  in  Buyuk-Dere  in 
1832,  in  July.  The  many  years  that  lie  between  then  and 
now  have  passed  like  a  vapor ;  and  what  will  the  rest  be  ? 


356          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

I  desire  to  sit  down  upon  this  stone  by  the  wayside  and  look 
back,  and  look  forward,  and  look  up  !  "  There  is  a  land 
of  pure  delight,  where  saints  immortal  reign."  When  I 
bade  Mrs.  Goodell  farewell,  and  as  I  was  leading  her  down 
to  the  boat,  I  had  so  many  things  to  say,  that  I  said  noth 
ing.  In  such  circumstances  I  am  a  very  poor  manager.  I 
can  hardly  think  about  seeing  you  again  here,  so  little  does 
it  seem  to  be  worth  while,  considering  the  brevity  of  our 
remaining  journey.  However,  if  it  please  God  so,  I  shall 
greatly  rejoice.  May  He  be  with  you  and  with  us,  and  with 
all  our  children  East  and  West,  and  establish  his  covenant 
with  each  one  of  them,  unto  eternal  life  and  glory ! 

And  now,  good-by !  My  love  to  Mrs.  Goodell,  and  a 
thousand  good  wishes  for  her  health,  her  cheerfulness,  and 
her  spiritual  comforts.  My  love  to  your  children  in  Amer 
ica;  and  may  the  Lord  Jesus  cause  His  blessed  countenance 
to  shine  upon  their  souls,  and  make  them  happy  in  His  love 
and  fellowship.  My  love  to  you.  Pardon  all  my  sins  and 
follies  which  I  committed  while  under  your  observation,  and 
when  you  come  to  the  land  of  your  pious  father  and  ances 
tors,  remember  sometimes  the  poor  Jews,  and 
Your  sincere  friend  and  brother, 

W.   G.  SCHAUFFLER. 

Among  the  letters  that  he  received  on  the  eve  of  his  de 
parture  was  one  from  his  friend  Bishop  Gobat,  of  Jerusalem, 
whom  he  had  entertained  many  years  before  at  his  home 
while  at  Beyrout :  — 

JERUSALEM,  Feb.  5,  1851. 

MY    VERT    DEAR    BROTHER    IN    THE    LORD, Your    tWO 

letters  of  Nov.  20  and  Dec.  19  have  both  safely  reached 
this,  nearly  at  the  same  time,  and  have,  indeed,  as  you  say. 
made  my  heart  glad,  not  only  on  account  of  the  remittances, 
which  I  see  you  understand  are  very  welcome  for  the  carry 
ing  on  of  divers  works  in  this  country,  but,  I  assure  you,  it  is 
always  a  source  of  joy  to  hear  of  you,  and  especially  to  re 
ceive  your  kind  letters.  The  Lord  bless  you  abundantly  for 
your  kindness.  I  should  be  very  glad,  before  you  proceed, 
as  you  intend,  to  America,  to  see  you  and  your  dear  wife  in 
Jerusalem,  and  I  think  you  would  find  some  change  for  the 
better  in  the  disposition  of  the  people  of  this  country  since 
you  left  it.  But  whether  you  come  or  not,  I  pray  that  God 
may  bless  you  abundantly  on  your  visit  to  America. 


REACHING   THE   UNITED   STATES.  357 

Since  I  saw  you  at  Beyrout  in  1827,  I  have  never  been 
BO  long  in  one  country  as  I  have  now  been  in  Jerusalem, 
now  above  four  years.  Many  sweet  and  many  bitter  bless 
ings  have  we  received  at  the  hand  of  the  Lord  hi  our  wan 
dering  life,  and  all  is  intended  for  our  good. 

You  will  hear  with  much  pleasure  that  thirteen  families, 
with  sixty-one  souls,  at  Nazareth  have  just  declared  them 
selves  Protestants,  several  of  whom,  I  hope,  are  under  the 
influence  of  the  Spirit  of  grace.  Here  among  the  Jews  we 
see  just  fruits  enough  to  keep  up  our  courage,  but  certainly 
1  do  not  yet  perceive  any  important  change  among  the  Jews 
at  large.  Oh  that  the  Spirit  of  life  might  be  breathed  upon 
these  dry  bones ! 

Please  remember  us  kindly  to  your  dear  wife. 
Ever  faithfully  yours, 

S.  ANGL.  HIEROSOL. 

lie  left  Constantinople  May  3, 1 851,  and  reached  Boston  just 
in  time  to  go  to  the  dying  bed  of  his  life-long  friend  and  fellow- 
laborer,  Rev.  Daniel  Temple,  and  to  preach  his  funeral  ser 
mon  at  Reading,  Mass.  The  sermon,  which  was  published 
in  pamphlet,  besides  being  a  striking  comment  upon  the  text, 
"  There  remaineth  therefore  a  rest  to  the  people  of  God," 
was  a  warm-hearted  tribute  to  the  exalted  character  of  one 
whose  conversation  had  long  been  in  heaven. 

Soon  after  reaching  this  country,  he  made  his  way  to  his 
native  town,  which  he  had  left  nearly  forty  years  before,  and 
had  seen  only  in  vacations  while  a  student.  lie  arrived  at 
Templeton  late  on  a  Saturday  evening.  The  next  day,  on 
going  into  the  pulpit  and  looking  round  upon  the  congrega 
tion,  he  could  not  recognize  a  single  countenance,  not  even 
among  the  hoary  heads.  The  church  itself,  an  orthodox 
society,  had  been  organized  and  built  up  since  he  had  left 
the  place.  His  first  call  was  at  the  burying-ground,  of  which 
he  said,  "  I  thought  I  should  find  there  more  whom  I  knew 
than  anywhere  else."  But  even  the  graves  of  many  of  his 
friends  were  obliterated.  He  wrote  at  the  time,  "  The  changes 
everywhere  are  very  great,  '  one  generation  passeth  away, 
and  another  generation  cotneth.'  All  the  former  elders  of 


358          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

the  land,  the  deacons,  the  selectmen,  the  school  committee- 
men,  the  town-clerks,  the  lawyers,  the  representatives,  —  all, 
all  are  gone  !  '  The  world  passeth  away  and  the  lust  thereof, 
but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  God  abideth  for  ever.'  Oh  how 
blessed  are  all  those  who  are  connected  with  that  which  is 
eternal ! " 

He  visited  the  home  of  his  childhood  in  a  distant  part  of 
the  town,  where  he  had  left  his  aged  father  when  he  went  at 
the  call  of  God,  as  did  Abraham,  into  a  far  distant  country. 
But  that  too  was  gone.  The  site  only  remained.  Near  by 
he  found  living  an  aged  aunt  totally  blind,  of  whom  he 
wrote :  "  She  said  that  sometimes  when  she  lies  awake  in  the 
night  the  whole  room  seems  as  bright  as  day,  and  she  thinks 
she  sees  every  thing,  but  when  she  puts  out  her  hand  and 
waves  it,  she  finds  she  '  can  see  nothing  but  the  love  of  God.' 
Blessed  eyes  that  can  see  that ! " 

As  extensively  as  possible  he  visited  his  relatives,  espe 
cially  his  brothers  and  sisters,  who  were  scattered  over  the 
country,  from  Massachusetts  to  Wisconsin,  and  many  were 
the  sacred  and  joyful,  and  sometimes  amusing,  scenes  that 
occurred  as  he  made  himself  known  to  them  in  his  own 
humorous  way.  In  every  case  they  failed  at  first  to  recog 
nize  the  family  likeness  in  the  aged  man  who  called  at  their 
doors  and  asked  in  the  name  of  a  disciple  for  a  shelter,  or  a 
cup  of  cold  water.  He  had  kept  the  fire  of  love  for  his 
kindred  burning  bright  on  the  hearthstone  of  his  heart,  dur 
ing  the  many  years  that  had  separated  him  from  all  to  whom 
he  was  bound  by  natural  ties,  and  as  he  joined  them  in  their 
family  circles,  and  bowed  with  them  at  their  family  altars, 
he  felt  as  if  he  had  not  been  absent  a  day.  The  account 
which  he  gave  of  a  visit  to  a  brother  in  the  far  West,  when 
they  laughed  and  wept  by  turns,  but  all  for  joy,  is  too 
domestic  to  be  here  transcribed,  although  strikingly  expres 
sive  of  his  genial,  loving  character. 

The  two  years  that  he  spent  in  this  country  were  devoted 
almost  exclusively  to  hard  work  in  the  same  blessed  cause 


LABORS  IN  THIS  COUNTRY.          359 

for  which  he  had  gone  forth  to  the  Eastern  world  so  long 
before.  lie  was  constantly  going  from  place  to  place,  from 
one  part  of  the  country  to  another,  preaching  and  advocating 
the  cause  of  missions,  on  the  Sabbath,  during  the  week,  and 
on  all  occasions.  During  these  two  years,  lacking  five  days, 
he  travelled  about  twenty-one  thousand  miles,  visited  eigh 
teen  States  of  the  Union,  and  the  District  of  Columbia ;  he 
occupied  two  hundred  and  thirty-five  different  pulpits,  preach 
ing  or  addressing  more  than  four  hundred  congregations, 
speaking  on  an  average  about  an  hour  each  time,  and  ad 
dressing,  in  addition,  the  students  of  colleges  and  theological 
seminaries,  Sabbath  schools,  select  schools,  &c.,  all  over  the 
country.  As  he  was  leaving  for  the  scene  of  his  labors  in 
the  East  he  wrote  :  "  Instead  of  being  worn  down  by  this 
service,  I  feel  all  the  fresher  and  the  better  for  it.  What 
thanks  are  due  to  Him  '  who  giveth  power  unto  the  faint/ 
and  what  thanks  shall  we  render  to  Him  for  all  that  cordi 
ality,  that  truly  Christian  hospitality,  with  which  lie  inspired 
the  ten  thousands  of  His  dear  people  to  receive  us." 

Mrs.  Goodell  remained  more  quietly  among  friends,  a  part 
of  the  time  at  a  sanitary  retreat,  recuperating  her  health  and 
energies,  and  preparing  for  her  remaining  labors  in  the  mis 
sionary  field. 

During  his  stay  in  this  country  he  was  often  called  to 
address  public  assemblies  on  important  occasions ;  at  the 
anniversaries  of  our  benevolent  societies,  at  missionary 
conventions,  ordinations,  and  other  like  occasions ;  and  his 
quaint,  original,  sententious  style  never  failed  to  arrest  atten 
tion,  while  his  whole-hearted  devotion  to  the  cause  of  his 
Master,  for  which  alone  he  seemed  to  live  and  plead,  gave 
his  words  an  entrance  to  the  hearts  of  all  who  heard  him. 
While  in  this  country  he  received  an  application  from  one  of 
the  missionaries  at  Constantinople  for  some  needed  supplies, 
to  which  he  replied :  — 

NEW  YORK,  Feb.  21,  1852. 

DEAR  SISTER  IN  CHRIST,  —  Yours  of  the  7th  ult.  has 
been  received,  and  I  immediately  sent  an  extract  from  it, 


360          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

marked  No.  3,  with  other  documents,  to  the  ladies  in  Roches 
ter,  with  the  following  note  :  — 

14  To  Mrs.  ELY,  Mrs.  BURKE,  Mrs.  CHAPIX,  Mrs.  MILLER,  and 
to  the  rest  of  their  companions  on  both  sides  of  the  river 
at  Rochester,  *  Peace,  and  at  such  a  time.' 

"BELOVED  FRIENDS,  —  From  Nos.  1,  2,  and  3  of  the  ac 
companying  documents  you  will  see  exactly  what  is  wanted, 
and  you  have  the  great  honor  and  the  distinguished  privilege 
of  furnishing,  without  loss  of  time,  the  outfit  required.  k  And 
now  if  ye  will  deal  kindly  and  truly  with  my  master,  tell  me ; 
and  if  not,  tell  me ;  that  I  may  turn  to  the  right  hand  or  to 
the  left. '  In  short,  if  you  desire  with  all  your  hearts  to  pro 
vide  for  your  and  our  beloved  daughter,  Miss  L.,  the  articles 
mentioned  in  No.  3,  then  send  them  to  Femberton  Square, 
Boston.  But  if  it  be  inconvenient  for  you,  on  account  of  your 
being  just  now  deeply  engaged  in  other  benevolent  enterprises, 
then  drop  me  a  line  without  delay,  as  I  know  well  where  to 
make  the  blessed  offer  next,  '  in  the  name  and  for  the  sake  of 
our  common  Master.' 

41  Yours  most  truly, 

"  W.    GOODELL." 

So  rest  assured  tablecloths,  blankets,  bedsteads,  &c.,  will 
all  come.     There  are  a  great  many  good  folks  in  America. 
In  the  greatest  haste  and  with  the  greatest  love, 

W.  GOODELL. 

Before  returning  to  his  field  of  labor  in  Turkey,  he  pre 
pared  a  volume,  which  was  published  on  the  eve  of  his 
departure,  entitled,  "THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW;  or,  The 
Changes  of  Thirty  Years  in  the  East."  The  opening  chap 
ter  contained  his  impressions  on  revisiting  his  native  land, 
from  which  an  extract  is  here  made :  — 

"After  an  absence  of  near  one-third  of  a  century  from 
our  native  land,  where  we  once  enjoyed  to  a  high  degree  the 
friendship  of  the  benevolent  and  the  good,  we  have  been 
permitted  to  revisit  it.  About  one-half  of  my  own  existence, 
and  more  than  one-half  of  Mrs.  Goodell's,  had  been  spent  in 
the  East;  and,  when  first  invited  by  the  Prudential  Com 
mittee  to  return,  we  did  not  think  of  accepting  their  kind 
invitation.  We  had  been  so  long  away,  and  such  great 
changes  had  in  the  mean  time  taken  place,  both  in  our  own 
habits  and  among  our  friends  at  home,  that  we  felt  we  should 
*  know  not  the  manner  of  the  God  of  the  land,'  nor  the  lati 
tude  and  longitude  of  any  of  the  customs  of  this  new  genera- 


REMINISCENCES.  3G1 

tion.  But  the  more  we  considered  the  subject,  the  more  we 
deemed  it  our  duty  to  make  this  visit,  especially  on  account 
of  our  beloved  children,  three  of  whom,  having  already  been 
several  years  in  this  country,  we  greatly  longed  to  see ;  two 
others  being  ready  to  follow,  we  could  bring  with  us,  while 
our  three  youngest  could  be  left  with  dear  friends  at  Con 
stantinople,  who  kindly  offered  to  take  charge  of  them  as 
pledges  of  our  return. 

"  This  visit  has  been  a  very  refreshing  one  to  our  spirits. 
We  have  loved  to  look  out  upon  the  greenness,  the  fresh 
ness,  and  the  verdure  of  your  meadows  and  pastures,  so  dif 
ferent  from  those  of  the  East,  which,  in  summer,  are  withered 
and  dried  from  the  scorching  heat  of  the  sun,  and  the  long 
absence  of  rain ;  and  to  think  what  a  good  land  it  is  which 
the  Lord  God  of  your  fathers  has  given  unto  you.  We  have 
loved  to  look  upon  your  godly-minded  farms,  as  they  might 
almost  be  called,  that  is,  farms  cultivated  with  honesty,  in 
dustry,  and  economy,  and  in  many  cases,  too,  '  sanctified  by 
the  word  of  God  and  prayer,'  so  unlike  the  dishonesty  and 
indolence,  the  shiftlessness  and  oppression,  with  which  all 
land  in  the  East  is  ploughed  and  every  field  is  reaped.  And 
after  having  for  so  many  years  seen  scarcely  a  face  which 
was  not  more  or  less  distorted  by  arrogance  or  cringing  ser 
vility,  by  intolerance,  bigotry,  selfishness,  or  unjust  suffer 
ing,  —  we  have  gazed  with  delight  on  the  tens  of  thousands 
of  happy  countenances  in  this  happy  land,  which  are  lighted 
up  with  such  bright  expressions  of  kindness,  benevolence, 
and  Christian  hope. 

" '  Here  my  best  friends  and  kindred  dwell.' 

"  And  how  could  we  feel  otherwise  than  at  home  among 
them  ?  Most  of  the  fathers,  indeed,  and  many  also  of  their 
descendants,  whom  we  used  to  know  and  love,  are  gone.  But 
the  blessed  promise  is  fulfilled :  *  One  generation  shall  praise 
thy  works  to  another,  and  shall  declare  thy  mighty  acts.* 
And  another  rich  promise  has  been  thankfully  remembered 
and  often  repeated :  '  Instead  of  thy  fathers  shall  be  thy  chil 
dren,  whom  thou  mayest  make  princes  in  all  the  earth.'  That 
is,  the  children  were  to  be  so  much  better  than  their  fathers 
and  mothers  had  been,  that  they  might  well  be  called  princes 
and  princesses.  So  have  we  found  it  in  regard  to  some  of 
the  present  generation ;  and  our  fervent  prayer  is,  that  it 
may  be  so  in  regard  to  them  all.  And  being  received  by  all 

16 


362          FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

of  them,  not  as  strangers  but  as  fellow-citizens  and  joint- 
heirs,  we  have  felt  that  all  things  were  indeed  ours :  these 
pleasant  fields  and  beautiful  gardens,  with  all  their  fragrant 
flowers,  and  the  cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills,  —  we  have  en 
joyed  them  all. 

"  In  all  our  travels  through  this  good  land  we  have  met 
with  the  most  hearty  welcome,  and  have  had  the  very  best 
accommodations.  We  have  had  no  taxes  to  pay,  and  no 
trouble  with  domestics,  nor  have  we  been  burdened  with  any 
care  or  responsibility ;  and  yet,  during  all  our  sojourn  here, 
we  have  been  like  the  possessor  of  a  great  estate,  having 
1  servants  and  maidens,  men-singers  and  women-singers,  mu 
sical  instruments,  and  that  of  all  sorts,'  for  our  special  enter 
tainment.  The  Bible  promises  a  hundred-fold  to  those 
who  suffer  any  loss  for  the  truth's  sake ;  but  this  good  Bible 
always  does  better  than  it  promises ;  and  we  here  publicly 
acknowledge,  for  the  encouragement  of  all  others,  that  we 
ourselves,  however  unworthy  to  suffer,  or  to  speak  of  suffer 
ing,  have  already  received  ten  times  nearer  a  thousand-fold 
than  a  hundred. 

"  From  the  West  we  now  turn  our  faces  again  towards 
the  rising  sun.  And  '  I  suppose  you  like  living  there  better 
than  you  do  here,'  many  have  said  to  us.  No,  indeed,  we 
do  not  go  there  for  the  liking  of  the  thing  at  all ;  for  if  we 
sought  our  own  comfort  or  pleasure,  we  should  most  certainly 
remain  in  this  good  land.  No  romantic  views  of  missionary 
life  beckon  us  back ;  for  we  have  had  too  long  and  too  much 
experience  in  all  the  sober  realities  of  this  kind  of  life  to 
feel  the  influence  of  any  such  romance.  No  glowing  speeches 
from  venerated  fathers  in  the  church  now  inspire  us  with 
enthusiasm  to  return  to  the  scene  of  our  former  labors ;  for 
'the  fathers,  where  are  they?'  Their  voices  are  silent  in 
death,  or  faltering  with  age.  No,  it  is  only  a  strong  sense  of 
duty  that  urges  us  to  return.  The  ties  which  bind  us  here 
now  are  far  stronger  than  those  we  were  called  to  sever 
thirty  years  ago;  for  we  now  have  children  here  unsettled 
in  life  and  without  a  home ;  and  to  leave  them  in  these  cir 
cumstances  is  to  us  a  trial  so  great,  that  the  separation  from 
parents  and  brothers  and  sisters  thirty  years  ago  seems  as 
nothing  in  comparison.  Ourselves,  and  those  so  dear  to  our 
hearts,  we  commend  to  your  prayers ;  arid  to  your  prayers 
do  we  commend  that  great,  good  work  in  which  we  have 
been  so  long  engaged.  We  have,  by  the  grace  of  God,  been 


LETTER   TO    DR.    ADAMS.  363 

permitted  to  see  much  greater  things  accomplished  than  we 
had  ever  expected,  even  in  our  brightest  days  of  hope  and  an 
ticipation  ;  and  we  are  encouraged  to  go  back  and  resume 
our  labors  in  the  East.  We  are,  indeed,  now  advanced  in 
life,  and  we  cannot  reasonably  expect  to  do  much  more  active 
service  anywhere ;  but  what  little  we  may  be  able  to  do,  we 
are  better  fitted  to  do  in  that  country  than  in  this.  It  is 
also  more  needed  there  than  it  is  here,  and  the  influence  of 
it  will,  if  the  future  be  like  the  past,  reach  much  farther  there 
than  it  would  be  likely  to  reach  here.  And  oh,  may  the 
Lord  of  Life  Himself  *  abide  with  us,  for  it  is  toward  even 
ing,  and  the  day  is  far  spent ' !  " 

On  the  return  voyage  he  wrote  to  his  beloved  preceptor, 
Dr.  John  Adams :  — 

BARQUE  "  SULTANA,"  Aug.  9,  1853. 
To  JOHN  ADAMS,  LL.D.,  Jacksonville,  III. : 

MY  DEAR  AND  HONORED  SIR,  —  After  many  years  of 
absence  from  my  native  country,  I  was,  in  God's  great  and 
good  providence,  permitted  to  return  to  it  It  was  to  me  a 
very  pleasant  visit,  and  I  am  glad,  and  I  hope  grateful,  that 
I  was  permitted  to  make  it. 

I  had  intended  and  expected  to  visit  Jacksonville,  and  I 
regretted  not  being  able  to  do  so.  I  had  thought  much  of 
seeing  again  the  venerable  instructor  of  my  youth,  to  whom 
more  than  to  any  other  individual  do  I  feel  my  obligations 
for  those  maxims  and  precepts  which  contributed  so  much  to 
form  my  character.  When  I  entered  Phillips  Academy  I 
was  already  a  professor  of  religion,  and  perhaps  I  possessed  a 
little  of  it;  but  earnest  and  spiritual  religion,  benevolence  as 
an  active,  living  principle,  and  sympathy  with  Christ  in  self- 
denying  effort  to  save  men,  were  but  little  understood  in  my 
native  place.  The  hints,  therefore,  which  you  dropped  from 
day  to  day,  the  views  you  expressed,  the  exhortations  and 
appeals  you  made  to  our  consciences,  together  with  the  deep 
religious  feeling  you  manifested  in  every  thing,  were  all  new 
to  me.  They  were  indeed  spirit  and  life  to  my  soul,  and 
they  waked  up  within  me  new  thoughts  and  purposes,  the 
influence  of  which  I  feel  to  this  day.  A  blessed  place  was 
that  academy  to  me,  as  it  has  been,  I  doubt  not,  to  many 
others.  To  have  seen  your  face,  therefore,  once  more  in  the 
flesh,  and,  bowing  the  knee  with  you  in  prayer,  to  have  joined 
in  those  fervent  supplications  with  which  many  of  your 


364          FORTY   YEARS  IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

former  pupils  were  so  much  edified,  would  indeed  have  been 
very  gratifying ;  but  it  was  not  permitted. 

I  am  now  on  my  return  to  my  field  of  labor  in  the  East, 
and  we  have  already  passed  the  Western  Islands.  This  our 
second  departure  from  our  native  land  was  much  more  trying 
to  us  than  was  our  first,  for  we  had  now  to  tear  ourselves 
away  from  five  beloved  children  whom  we  left  behind.  May 
this  painful  separation  be  greatly  blessed  both  to  them  and  to 
us.  To  your  prayers  do  we  commend  them,  together  with 
ourselves  and  our  work.  And  may  your  own  life  be  long 
preserved,  that  you  may  still  for  many  years  be  a  blessing  to 
your  friends !  and  that  in  the  important  sphere  you  now 
occupy  you  may  be  as  useful  to  ten  thousands  of  the  chil 
dren's  children  as  in  times  past  you  have  been  to  the  children 
themselves. 

It  is  not  probable  that  we  shall  ever  meet  again  here  ;  but 
no  matter,  for  we  are  almost  there.  Time  seems  short,  and 
eternity  near;  and  this  is  just  as  it  should  be.  May  we 
daily  feel  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come,  and  be  as 
strongly  attracted  thither  as  we  are  swiftly  carried  thither 
on  the  wings  of  time ! 

Christian  love  to  all  your  dear  children,  and  best  wishes 
for  all  their  children. 

Your  affectionate  pupil, 

W.  GOODELL. 

To  the  Rev.  Dr.  Anderson,  Secretary  of  the  Board,  he 
wrote  from  the  ship,  on  reaching  Malta :  — 

MALTA,  Sept.  5,  1853. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  To  the  day  of  our  second  departure 
from  our  native  land  we  had  looked  forward  with  much  ap 
prehension  ;  and  we  had  long  prayed  that  all  the  circum 
stances  of  it,  and  especially  of  our  separation  from  our  beloved 
children,  might  be  ordered  in  great  mercy  and  kindness. 
And  God,  "  who  is  rich  in  mercy,"  heard  our  prayers,  and 
sustained  and  comforted  both  their  hearts  and  ours  far  beyond 
what  we  had  expected.  May  He  grant  also  abounding  grace, 
that  this  separation,  though  now  so  painful,  may  be  greatly 
sanctified  both  to  them  and  to  us,  and  to  all  our  other  dear 
relatives  and  friends,  and  thus  prove  a  much  richer  blessing 
to  us  all  than  our  presence  with  them  could  have  proved. 
And  in  the  same  great  mercy  and  kindness  may  lie  order  all 
the  circumstances  of  our  re-entrance  into  our  field  of  labor  in 


ON    SHIPBOARD.  865 

the  East,  of  our  continuance  in  it,  and  of  our  final  departure 
from  it,  together  with  our  removal  from  all  these  earthly 
scenes. 

Renewedly  would  we  now  consecrate  our  unworthy  selves, 
and  the  poor  remnant  of  our  days,  to  the  blessed  service  of 
Christ;  and  had  we  a  thousand  to  devote,  we  would  not 
reserve  one  of  them  for  mere  self-gratification. 

To  be  connected  with  His  great  kingdom  is  to  be  con 
nected  with  that  which  is  not  only  great  and  good,  but  ever 
lasting,  and  "  of  the  increase  of  which  there  will  be  no  end." 
And  to  be  connected  with  it  in  this  very  way  of  extending 
its  humanizing,  saving  influences  among  whole  races  and 
communities  of  men  who  "  heretofore  were  not  a  people," 
and  '*  had  not  obtained  mercy,"  though  it  be  attended  with 
many  privations  and  hardships,  and  much  self-denial,  is  yet 
a  work  which  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  church  should 
esteem  as  a  privilege  exceedingly  great  and  precious. 

We  have  excellent  accommodations  on  board  the  bark 
"  Sultana."  Captain  Watson  is  one  of  the  kindest  of  men. 
Our  passage  has  been  longer  than  we  hoped  it  would  be,  forty- 
five  days  to  Malta ;  but  we  have  had  for  the  most  part  such 
gentle  breezes  and  so  smooth  a  sea  that  1  have  enjoyed  the 
voyage  more  than  I  ever  did  any  preceding  one.  Mrs. 
Goodell  has  suffered  a  good  deal,  especially  from  the  long 
confinement.  Her  health  is,  I  think,  improved  from  this 
visit  to  America,  but  it  cannot  reasonably  be  expected  that 
she  will  ever  fully  recover  from  the  shock  her  constitution 
has  received.  The  only  wonder  is,  that  she  has  survived  all 
that  she  has  been  called  to  pass  through. 

For  the  various  stores  we  found  on  board,  expressly  for 
the  use  of  the  missionaries,  but  which  we  shared  with  the 
other  passengers,  we  are,  I  presume,  indebted  to  yourself  and 
your  associates  ;  and  for  this  and  every  other  act  of  your  and 
their  kindness,  —  the  interest  manifested  in  our  welfare 
from  first  to  last,  —  both  you  and  they  will  accept  our  sincere 
thanks.  Stores  of  grace  and  patience  you  did  not  provide 
for  us,  nor  could  you  do  it ;  nor  did  we  attempt  to  make  any 
such  provision  for  ourselves.  We  have  been  taught  by  past 
experience  that  all  such  stores,  like  the  manna  laid  up  by 
the  unbelieving  Israelites  for  the  morrow,  are  perfectly  worth 
less,  and  that  it  is  infinitely  better  to  get  these  things  fresh 
from  day  to  day,  according  to  our  necessities.  And  since  we 
can  have  them  at  any  moment,  fresh  from  heaven,  whatever 
grace  we  need  and  will  accept,  why  should  we  be  burdened 


366  FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

with  a  great  stock  of  that  which  cannot  be  kept  from  spoil 
ing,  and  which  can  be  used  only  at  the  very  time  it  is  ob 
tained  1 

Our  past  experience  has  also  taught  us  that  we  need  take 
no  responsibility  upon  us  in  regard  to  the  regulation  of  the 
wind,  but  that  we  may  safely  leave  the  whole  management 
of  this  to  Him  whose  province  it  is,  and  whose  power  and 
wisdom  and  goodness  are  fully  adequate.  So  here  we  are  at 
Malta,  after  a  passage  of  forty-five  days ;  and  our  voyage 
was  no  less  prosperous,  and  certainly  much  more  pleasant, 
than  if  we  had  been  quarrelling  the  whole  way  with  the 
wind.  How  much  trouble  we  all  might  save  ourselves  by 
not  meddling  with  any  thing  beyond  our  province. 
Your  brother  in  the  Lord, 

W.    GOODELL. 

He  returned  to  Turkey  with  a  deep  impression  that  he 
had  but  a  short  work  before  him,  and  that  what  he  had  to 
do  for  his  Master  must  be  done  quickly.  This,  indeed,  had 
been  his  abiding  feeling  during  all  the  years  that  he  had 
spent  in  the  mission,  owing  to  his  life-long  feebleness  of 
body ;  but  the  feeling  was  intensified  as  he  went  back  to 
resume  his  former  work.  To  a  friend,  who  expressed  a 
desire  to  hear  from  him  by  letter  more  frequently,  he  wrote 
not  long  after  his  return :  — 

"  All  my  friends  in  Turkey,  and  I  suppose,  too,  in  America, 
complain  of  my  neglect  in  writing  to  them.  But  the  fact  is, 
all  my  strength  and  all  my  time  are  given  to  my  missionary 
work,  and  every  day  I  become  so  exhausted  wijh  my  labors 
that  I  am  hardly  able  at  the  close  to  write  even  a  short  note. 
My  habitual  feeling  is  that  my  time  is  short ;  that  I  have 
returned  here  not  to  live  long,  but  to  die  soon  ;  and  that  if  I 
would  do  any  thing  more  for  Christ  and  the  souls  of  men,  I 
have  no  time  to  lose.  And  this  feeling,  being,  as  it  is,  alto 
gether  suitable  and  proper,  I  would  rather  cultivate  than 
«heck." 

The  year  after  Mr.  Goodell's  return,  the  honorary  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Divinity  was  conferred  upon  him,  both  by  Rut 
gers  College,  New  Jersey,  and  Hamilton  College,  New  York. 
Of  the  former  the  Hon.  Theodore  Frelinghuysen  was  at 


DOCTOR   DIVINITATIS.  367 

that  time  President,  who  was  also  President  of  the  American 
Board,  and  thus  had  abundant  occasion  to  know  on  whom 
the  degree  was  conferred.  It  was  announced  at  both  insti 
tutions  the  same  day,  July  26,  1854.  In  acknowledgment  of 
the  honor,  he  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Trus 
tees  of  Hamilton  College,  expressing  a  very  sensible  view  of 
a  distinction  which  he  had  never  sought  or  desired :  — 

"  The  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity,  which  they 
were  pleased  to  confer  upon  me,  I  would  regard  in  the  same 
light  in  which  they  intended  it,  viz.,  as  a  mark  of  honor. 
And,  although  it  is  an  honor,  to  which  in  my  own  conscious 
ness  I  have  no  claim,  and  which  perhaps  it  would  be  better 
should  not  be  bestowed  at  all  in  any  case,  yet  to  decline  it 
would  only  be  to  bring  myself  into  unnecessary  notoriety, 
and  to  show  a  disrespect  to  those  venerable  men  whom  I 
ou^ht  and  would  wish  to  honor." 


The  conferring  of  this  honor  was  the  occasion  of  the  fol 
lowing  correspondence  with  the  Rev.  William  G.  Schaufller, 
who  soon  after  was  worthily  advanced  to  the  same  degree  :  — 

Reverendo  Domino  GCLIELMO  GOODELLO,  Doctori    Vene- 

randce  Theologies: 

Intellexi  te  esse  provectum,  idque  bis,  ad  gradum  Doc- 
toris  Theologici,  de  quo  certior  factus  maximopere  Isetatus 
sum.  Istius  honoris  homo  te  dignior  apud  nostrates  atque 
in  tota  hac  civitate,  imo  hoc  imperio  non  invenitur,  ut  jam 
omnibus  tuis  constat  amicis,  praesertim  mihi,  tibi  tuisque 
semper  sincerrime  faventi.  Haec  cum  ita  shit,  festino  te 
gratulari,  ex  animo,  de  laureis  tuae  fronti  pariter  sapientia 
et  humanitate  adornataa  impositis.  Bisque  (nam  id  mihi 
semper  in  votis)  non  bis  tantuin,  sed  terque  quaterque  beatus, 
atque  faveas,  velim,  tuo  fratri  sincere  devotoque  in  tide  et 
caritate, 

GULIELMO    TH.    SCHAUFFLORO. 
BEBECI,  Die  Septembris  ab,  1854. 

HASS  KEUY,  Sept.  8,  1854. 
Rev.  W.  G.  SCHAUFFLER,  Bebek  : 

Alas  !  my  brother,  I  know  not  whether  those  two  Alma 
Maters  should  receive  your  sympathy,  or  their  poor  foster- 


368          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

child  your  congratulations.  At  any  rate,  "  the  children 
should  first  be  filled."  Of  one  of  those  institutions  I  know- 
only  the  worthy  president,  and  of  the  other  I  know  not  even 
the  name  of  a  single  executive  officer. 

"  That  the  soul  be  without  knowledge,  is  not  good."  And 
these  literary  institutions,  however  they  may  be  in  appear 
ance^  yet  in  fact  are  not  pure  fountains  of  knowledge ;  for 
had  they  known  half  as  much  of  my  brethren  at  Constanti 
nople  as  I  know  of  them,  they  would  not  have  thus  "  erred 
exceedingly,"  but  would  have  bestowed  their  favors  in  a 
much  more  unexceptionable  manner ;  unless,  indeed,  they 
acted  on  the  very  benevolent  principle  of  "  bestowing  more 
abundant  honor  upon  the  part  that  most  lacked."  Could 
this  "more  abundant  honor"  bring  up  the  weaker  one 
towards  an  equality  with  his  brethren,  it  would,  indeed,  be 
something  to  be  prized ;  but,  alas !  it  would  take  more  of 
this  "  abundant  honor "  than  all  the  fountains  of  honor  in 
our  land  could  send  forth  to  effect  this.  And  I  assure  you 
I  value  more  the  good  opinion  of  my  missionary  brethren 
and  sisters,  and  of  their  sons  and  daughters,  than  I  do  all 
"  the  degrees "  which  all  the  universities  in  both  the  Old 
World  and  the  New  could  bestow. 

Who  does  not  know  that  the  moon  shines  not  by  its  own 
light,  but  by  reflecting  that  of  the  sun  ?  And  who  does  not 
know  that,  as  a  general  thing,  "  he  who  walketh  with  wise 
men  shall  be  wise  "  himself,  or,  at  any  rate,  will  have  the 
appearance  of  being  so  ?  It  is  not  strange,  then,  that  one 
who  has  been  so  long  associated  with  his  brethren  here  as  I 
have  been,  so  long  revolving  near  these  bright  suns  in  the 
firmament  of  wisdom  and  knowledge,  should  at  length  begin 
to  reflect  some  of  their  light.  The  only  wonder  is  that  this 
lesser  light  should,  through  some  defect  in  the  telescope,  have 
been  so  strangely  confounded  with  the  greater. 

For  your  affectionate  salutatory  in  Latin,  accept  my  thanks. 
I  dare  not  attempt  a  reply  in  the  same  learned  tongue,  for  I 
do  not  see  that  I  know  a  bit  more  of  Latin,  or  even  of  the 
ology,  than  I  did  before.  And  I  should  be  very  sorry  to  do 
any  thing  which  would  bring  dishonor  upon  the  reverend 
heads  of  those  whose  honest  intention,  I  doubt  not,  was  to 
do  honor  to  "  your  brother  and  companion  in  tribulation,  and 
in  the  kingdom  and  patience  of  Jesus  Christ," 

W.    GOODELL. 


RESUMING   HIS   WORK. 


369 


CHAPTER  XX. 


ON  his  return  to  Constantinople,  Dr.  Goodell  took  up 
his  .residence  at  Hass  Keuy,  on  the  Golden  Horn, 
where  he  had  a  pastoral  supervision  of  the  Female  Seminary, 
then  under  the  care  of  Miss  West,  and  where  he  preached 
regularly  on  the  Sabbath,  preaching  also  at  the  capital.  He 
resumed  at  the  same  time  his  revision  of  the  Armeno-Turk- 
ish  Bible,  in  regard  to  which  he  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  American  Bible  Society  :  — 

"  To  aid  me  in  the  work,  I  have  a  Greek,  an  Armenian, 
and  a  Mussulman  ;  and  as  those  who  might  escape  the  sword 
of  Ilazael  were  to  be  slain  by  Jehu,  and  those  who  might 
escape  the  sword  of  Jehu  were  to  be  slaiu  by  Elisha,  so  I 
hope  that  whatever  errors  may  escape  the  notice  of  any  one 
of  my  helpers  will  be  detected  by  another.  But,  to  put 
God's  blessed  word  into  Turkish  is  a  very  difficult  work, 
and  I  feel  my  incompetency  more  and  more.  The  language 
is  not  a  religious  language ;  it  has  never  been  deemed  fit  by 
the  Turks  to  be  used  for  the  sacred  purpose  of  religious  wor 
ship,  and  of  course  no  written  prayers  or  devotional  books 
are  to  be  found  in  pure  Turkish. 

"  To  my  Turkish  teacher  it  sometimes  seems  quite  shock 
ing  to  express  the  everlasting  truth  of  the  Bible  by  the  ordi 
nary  words  for  eating,  drinking,  walking,  sleeping,  wrestling, 
conquering,  buying,  selling,  losing,  saving,  &c. ;  while  such 
terms  as  '  justification,  adoption,  and  sanctification,  with  the 
several  benefits,  which  do  either  accompany  or  flow  from 
them,'  are  still  more  difficult  to  be  disposed  of  in  a  manner 
which  shall  be  intelligible,  and  yet  not  contemptible.  I  have 
suggested  to  him  that  if  the  Turks  had  long  ago  translated 
the  Koran  into  Turkish,  and  had  thus  used  the  very  language 
of  the  people  in  their  religious  worship,  it  would  have  been 

16*  x 


370  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

of  great  service  to  us  in  translating  the  Bible,  as  many  words 
and  phrases  would  then  have  been  familiar  and  at  home  in 
religion,  which  now  seem  awfully  strange  and  incongruous. 
This  he  admitted ;  but  said  that  no  such  translation  of  the 
Koran  would  be  or  could  be  the  Koran  itself ;  that  nobody 
would  or  could  receive  it  as  such ;  that  it  would  have  no 
authority,  and  could  have  none ;  and  that  all  their  prayers 
and  worship  and  religious  expressions  must  absolutely  be  in 
the  ancient  language,  whether  understood  or  not.  I  told 
him  that  in  this  respect  they  were  exactly  on  a  level  with 
the  Jews,  Armenians,  Greeks,  Coptics,  Maronites,  Jacobites, 
Roman  Catholics,  and  even  the  degraded  heathen  in  India, 
all  of  whom  had  their  Shasters  and  Liturgies  in  ancient  and 
unknown  tongues ;  that  while  in  business  transactions  with 
one  another  they  always  made  it  a  point  to  understand  and 
be  understood,  in  all  transactions  with  their  Maker  they  used 
words  without  meaning,  and  that,  in  fact,  nobody  but  Protes 
tants  even  so  much  as  pretended  to  offer  unto  God  a  '  reason 
able  set-vice,'  —  a  worship  intelligible  to  themselves. 

"  The  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  have  spared  no 
pains  or  expense  in  their  efforts  to  procure  a  good  translation 
of  the  Scriptures  into  Turkish  for  the  Mussulman ;  they  have 
revised,  and  re-revised,  and  they  are  ready  to  make  any  fur 
ther  effort  which  may  be  required.  But  my  own  opinion 
would  be,  that  they  should  now  wait,  and  make  no  further 
change  till  the  present  editions  shall  be  nearly  exhausted, 
or  till  there  shall  be  a  waking  up  of  the  Turkish  mind  to  the 
truth.  When  there  shall  be  a  class  of  Turks  who  desire  to 
know,  and  to  have  their  neighbors  and  friends  know,  exactly 
and  fully  what  God's  revelation  is,  it  will  then  be  compara 
tively  easy,  with  their  help,  to  prepare  a  translation  which 
shall  meet  their  wants  and  wishes ;  for  it  would  then  be 
adapted,  and  intended  to  be  adapted,  to  the  common  mind. 
Learned  natives  could  then  be  employed  in  the  work,  who, 
like  Luther,  would  be  all  alive  to  the  subject,  from  their  own 
personal  interest  in  it,  and  who,  being  fully  capable  of  appre 
ciating  the  common  mind,  wrould  have  all  the  stores  of  the 
Turkish  language  at  command,  to  be  used  freely  for  the 
benefit  of  such  minds." 

To  the  Society  of  Inquiry  in  Andover  Theological  Semi 
nary  he  addressed  a  letter  on  the  great  want  of  laborers  in 
the  mission  field,  which  exhibits  his  absorbing  interest  in  the 


CALL   FOR  MEN.  371 

cause  and  his  earnest  desire  to  secure  re-enforcements  to  carry 
on  the  work  more  vigorously :  — 

"  During  my  late  visit  to  the  good  land  which  the  Lord 
God  hath  given  us  to  inherit,  I  travelled  very  extensively ; 
but  though  I  was  greatly  importuned  by  many  to  remain 
there,  and  though  far  stronger  ties  bound  me  there  than  those 
I  was  called  to  sever  thirty-three  years  ago,  yet  I  bless  God 
that  I  was  permitted  to  return  here.  .Never  during  my  whole 
missionary  life  have  I  preached  the  Gospel  with  so  much 
pleasure  as  since  my  return.  Doors  are  opened,  or  are 
opening,  in  every  direction.  Gladly  would  I,  were  it  possible, 
be  every  day  in  a  hundred  different  places  at  once ;  but  I 
can  be  in  only  one  place,  and  that  one  I  shall  occupy  but  a 
little  longer.  Who  of  you  will  come  to  take  my  place  here, 
and  to  occupy  these  other  hundred  places,  which  we  cannot 
occupy  ?  Most  gladly  would  I  go  back,  and  serve  ill  another 
third  of  a  century's  campaign,  that  I  might  see  the  gooil  of 
God's  chosen,  and  rejoice  with  His  inheritance  in  those 
mighty  changes  and  wonderful  moral  revolutions  which  are 
fast  coming  on  through  the  feeble  instrumentality  of  His 
servants. 

"  Were  the  Saviour  Himself  to  stand  up  in  the  midst  of 
all  our  theological  students,  and,  looking  them  all  in  the  face, 
should  say,  as  one  who  had  authority,  *  Go  YE  into  all  the 
world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature,'  I  do  verily 
believe  that  comparatively  few  of  them  would  have  the  least 
idea  of  its  being  their  duty  to  remain  at  home.  They  would 
as  naturally  take  it  for  granted  that  they  should  go  to  the 
heathen,  as  they  now  generally,  indeed  almost  universally, 
take  it  for  granted  that  they  are  not  to  go,  but  are  to  remain 
at  home.  And  should  every  student  now  at  Andover  declare 
his  resolution  to  be  a  missionary,  and  should  he  at  the  close 
of  his  term  of  study  carry  this  resolution  into  immediate 
effect,  it  would  probably  be  a  greater  blessing  to  Andover, 
and  a  greater  blessing  to  the  churches  of  our  land,  and  a 
greater  blessing  to  our  whole  country,  than  if  you  should  all 
live  and  labor  at  home  for  half  a  century,  —  and  all  this,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  blessed  influence  of  your  direct  labors  among 
the  heathen.  What  a  spirit  of  prayer  would  naturally  be 
awakened  throughout  the  whole  length  and  breadth  of  our 
land !  What  copious  effusions  of  the  Spirit  might  be  ex 
pected  to  be  poured  out  from  on  high  !  '  God,  even  our  owu 


372          FORTY    YE1RS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

God,  would  bless  us.'  And  even  the  very  feeblest  of  our 
churches  in  the  far  West,  who  now  think  their  very  life 
depends  on  receiving,  might  find  a  world  of  meaning  in  '  the 
words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  how  lie  said,  It  is  more  blessed  to 
GIVE  than  to  receive.' 

"  In  conclusion,  let  me  say,  I  have  written  unto  you,  young 
men,  because  ye  are  strong,  and  the  word  of  God  abideth 
in  you,  and  ye  have  overcome  the  wicked  one.  Then  '  be 
strong,  quit  yourselves  like  men,'  and  '  do  exploits.'  " 

The  following  paper  on  "  Aggressive  Movements "  was 
written  for  the  annual  meeting  of  the  mission.  His  obser 
vations  upon  the  condition  of  the  churches  in  this  country  at 
the  time  of  his  visit  are  eminently  just,  and  his  suggestions 
are  not  inappropriate  at  the  present  day,  although  we  may 
believe  that  the  church  has  become  more  decidedly  aggres 
sive  in  its  spirit :  — 

"  In  my  recent  visit  to  America,  I  was  struck  with  the  fact 
that  the  work  there  was  not,  as  it  appeared  to  me,  sufficiently 
aggressive.  In  all  the  older  churches  and  congregations,  it 
did  not  in  general  seem  to  be  the  expectation  of  the  ministers 
to  do  any  thing  more  than  to  keep  things  along,  without 
going  backward.  The  additions  which  were  made  to  the 
church  or  congregation  were  just  about  sufficient  to  counter 
balance  the  removals.  The  Gospel  was  not  carried  to  men, 
and  urged  upon  them,  as  it  is  in  a  new  enterprise,  in  a  new 
place,  or  where  a  new  society  is  just  formed ;  but,  if  they 
wanted  it,  they  must  come  after  it.  The  minister  was  ready 
to  meet  them  at  the  appointed  time  and  place,  and  preach  to 
all  who  were  willing  to  come  and  hear ;  and  having  done  this, 
he  felt  that  he  had  discharged  his  duty. 

"  But  there  are  in  every  such  place  a  multitude  who  never 
come,  and  never  think  of  coming,  to  hear ;  and,  unless  the 
Gospel  is  absolutely  carried  to  them,  they  will  never  hear  it. 
If  the  pastor  himself  cannot  do  this,  his  church  must  be  active 
in  doing  it,  or  they  must  employ  a  city  missionary  to  do  it. 
When  a  church  is  full,  or  about  full,  it  can  prosper  no  longer ; 
it  must  remain  stationary,  or  it  must  retrograde,  or  else  it 
must  colonize.  If  the  church  sends  out  a  colony,  there  may 
be  two  churches  that  are  living,  growing,  flourishing,  instead 
of  one  that  is  dying.  Very  many  of  the  older  congregations 


AGGRESSIVE   WORK.  373 

I  did  not  find  so  large  as  I  left  them,  thirty  years  before  ;  and 
their  state  was  such  as  to  produce  the  conviction  in  some  few 
minds  that  Christianity  had  proved  a  failure,  and  that  a  new 
dispensation  must  be  expected.  Whereas  it  is  not  in  God, 
nor  in  Christianity,  that  they  are  straitened,  but  in  them 
selves,  —  their  own  slothf uluess.  Like  the  Israelites,  they 
have  not  the  courage,  the  heart,  to  go  and  take  complete  pos 
session  of  the  land ;  but  they  let  the  Amorites  live  among 
them,  as  though  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word  of 
God,  were  never  again  to  be  drawn,  except  where  these 
Amorites  are  never  seen. 

"  Now  let  the  experience  of  the  churches  at  home  be  a 
lesson  to  ourselves.  The  moment  we  cease  to  be  aggressive, 
we  cease  to  prosper,  we  stand  still,  we  grow  dull,  we  retro 
grade.  But  the  pastor  and  his  session,  and,  indeed,  his  whole 
church,  should  be  full  of  life  in  carrying  the  Gospel  to  their 
neighbors  and  friends.  The  time  has  been  when  the  mis 
sionary  in  these  countries  could  do  little  more  than  sit  in  his 
own  hired  house,  and  receive  those  that  came  to  him ;  not 
because  he  feared  danger  to  himself,  but  danger  to  those 
whom  he  might  visit.  He  could  do  nothing  more  or  better 
than  sit  still,  and  be  thankful  that  he  could  do  even  that. 
But,  blessed  be  God  !  that  time  has  passed  away.  And  sad, 
indeed,  will  it  be,  if  we  now  indulge  in  the  habits  we  were 
then  obliged  to  form.  Then  we  had  to  lay  hold  of  our  zeal 
ous  young  brethren,  and  hold  them  back.  Now  we  would 
urge  and  push  them  forward ;  or  rather  we  would  run  ahead 
ourselves,  and  beckon  them  to  follow  after.  Then  we  had 
to  write  a  whole  book  of  *  hints  and  cautions,'  now  earnest 
exhortations  may  more  properly  be  substituted. 

"  Many  of  our  churches  have  for  several  years  remained 
as  to  numbers  about  the  same.  The  increase  has  been 
scarcely  perceptible.  Are,  then,  our  efforts  sufficiently  ag 
gressive  ?  Is  the  missionary  or  native  pastor  doing  more  than 
half  his  work,  if  he  only  think  of  meeting  and  feeding  his 
own  flock  at  stated  times  ?  Why  should  he  not  break  forth 
on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left,  and  teach  and  train  up 
every  member  of  his  church  to  do  the  same  ?  not,  indeed,  with 
rudeness,  but  by  seeking  and  improving  opportunities.  It 
might  not  be  a  bad  plan  to  have  a  weekly  or  monthly  church- 
meeting,  and  ascertain  how  many  persons  each  member  had 
visited  during  the  week  or  month,  how  many  persons  each 
member  had  brought  or  tried  to  bring  to  meeting,  to  how 


374          FORTY   YEARS   IN  THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

many  persons  each  member  had  offered  the  Gospel,  —  the 
pastor  or  missionary  himself  setting  the  example  by  first  tell 
ing  what  he  himself  had  done.  Go,  preach  the  Gospel ;  not 
wait,  and  preach  it.  We.  are,  perhaps,  more  in  danger  of 
neglecting  our  duty  in  this  respect,  than  in  any  other.  No 
missionary,  unless  his  connection  with  schools,  the  press,  or 
translations  forbid  it,  can  possibly  be  excused  from  this.  It 
is  not  simply  or  mainly  to  receive  the  stragglers  who  come 
along  that  we  are  sent  here ;  but  it  is  our  duty  to  go  out 
into  the  highways  and  hedges,  into  the  streets  and  lanes  of 
the  city,  and  ask  and  entreat  and  compel  men  to  come  in. 
Let  every  one,  then,  whose  peculiar  work  or  state  of  health 
does  not  forbid  it,  be  careful  to  do  the  work  of  an  evangelist, 
and  to  make  full  proof  of  his  ministry." 

The  letter  which  follows  was  addressed  to  "  The  Children 
of  America,"  and  was  published  at  the  time  in  the  "  Youth's 
Day-Spring : "  - 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  April  29,  1854. 

MY  DEAR  CHILDREN,  —  Seven  Marys  now  lie  almost  side 
by  side  in  the  Pera  Protestant  burying-ground.  Of  these, 
six  are  from  our  own  families,  and  the  other,  a  Protestant 
Armenian,  was  a  member  of  our  female  boarding-school. 
The  last  of  these  was  Mary  Benjamin,  whom  I  baptized  at 
Smyrna  on  my  way  to  America,  and  who  was  the  last  child 
upon  whom  I  ever  sprinkled  the  baptismal  water.  She  died 
this  week,  of  scarlet  fever,  after  an  illness  of  less  than  two 
days  ;  and  she  died  in  the  same  house,  and  in  the  same  room, 
where  little  Mary  Everett  died  almost  six  years  ago. 

There  are,  I  presume,  more  by  the  name  of  Mary  on  earth, 
and  more  by  that  name  in  heaven,  than  there  are  of  any 
other  name.  And  it  was  a  name  which,  we  may  suppose,  our 
Saviour  spoke  often er  than  He  spoke  any  other  name,  for 
several  of  His  best  and  most  intimate  friends  were  Marys. 
Mary,  too,  it  would  seem,  was  the  first  person  He  addressed, 
and  the  first  name  He  pronounced,  and  hers  was  the  first 
heart  He  comforted,  after  His  resurrection. 

Mary  Benjamin  was  but  three  years  old,  but  she  was  so 
original  in  all  her  conceptions  arid  expressions,  her  thoughts 
and  words  and  ways,  as  to  raise  the  highest  expectations  of 
her  friends,  and  to  call  forth  a  frequent  repetition  of  the 
passage  remarked  upon  at  her  baptism,  "  What  manner  of 


SEVEN    MARYS.  375 

child  shall  this  he  ?  "  She  could  sing  some  twenty  or  more 
tunes,  sitting  on  her  father's  knee,  and  cany  her  part  alone, 
while  he  sung  another  part.  She  spent  much  time  every 
day  in  singing,  amusing  herself,  when  alone,  in  singing  some 
of  her  beautiful  hymns.  One  of  her  favorite  hymns  was,  — 

"  I  think,  when  I  read  that  sweet  story  of  old, 
When  Jesus  was  here  among  men,"  &c. 

One  of  the  very  last  hymns  she  ever  heard,  and  the  first 
verse  of  which  she  had  already  committed  to  memory,  was,  — 

"  A  home  in  heaven  !  what  a  joyful  thought !  " 

And  she  went  singing  it  round  the  house,  in  her  pleasant 
home  on  earth,  till  within  a  few  hours  of  the  time  when  she 
went  to  sing  in  her  Father's  house  above,  — 

"  A  home  in  heaven  !  what  a  joyful "  PLACE  ! 

This  little  Mary  was  of  a  most  affectionate  disposition. 
She  loved  with  great  strength.  It  almost  seemed  as  though 
she  had  more  love  than  her  little  heart  could  possibly  hold, 
for  it  ran  over  on  all  sides.  And  who  can  doubt  that  she 
has  gone  to  that  bright  world  above,  that  heaven  of  love, 
which  she  talked  so  much  about,  not  only  when  awake,  but 
even  in  her  sleep ;  and  that  she  now  dwells  with  that  great 
and  good  Father,  whose  face,  even  months  ago,  and  when  in 
perfect  health,  she  longed  even  with  weeping  to  see,  and  in 
whose  holy  presence,  in  order  to  be  prepared  to  dwell,  she  was 
already  "  purifying  herself  even  as  He  is  pure,"  correcting 
her  own  faults,  and  "  waxing  strong  in  spirit "  to  do  right. 
Strange  to  say,  that,  though  of  a  very  inquisitive  turn  of 
mind,  asking  most  prying  questions  about  things  that  came 
under  her  observation,  yet  she  never  asked  where  the  body 
is  put,  when  the  spirit  goes  to  heaven ;  and  thus,  in  blissful 
ignorance  about  the  fearful  passage  over  Jordan,  she  crossed 
it  unawares,  and  found  herself  at  once  in  the  promised  land. 

On  the  marble  stone  that  lies  over  the  remains  of  one 
of  these  lovely  Marys  (Mary  Homes)  is  this  inscription  : 
"  And  Jesus  called  a  little  child  unto  Him"  This  is  taken 
from  Matthew  xviii.  2,  and  we  there  learn  that  Jesus  had  a 
special  reason  for  calling  this  little  child  to  Him;  lie  had 
a  special  use  for  the  child.  And  do  you  not  think  that  this 
dear  child  ran  with  alacrity  at  the  call  of  the  benevolent 
Jesus,  and  stood  close  to  Him,  and  looked  into  His  kind 


376          FORTY   YEARS  IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

face,  and  waited  to  know  His  blessed  will  ?  Now,  the  Lord 
Jesus  is  calling  a  great  many  children  to  Him,  and  He  needs 
them  all ;  He  has  a  special  use  for  them  all,  either  in  His 
kingdom  below,  or  in  His  kingdom  above.  Will  you  not, 
then,  dear  children,  run  at  His  call,  whether  it  be  on  earth, 
or  whether  it  be  in  heaven,  that  He  wishes  to  employ  you  ? 
Wherever  it  may  be,  it  will  be  a  most  blessed  service. 

The  "  little  child "  mentioned  by  Matthew  (I  wonder 
whether  her  name  was  Mary)  "  Jesus  called  to  him,"  in 
order  to  teach  His  own  disciples  humility.  And  I  should 
not  be  at  all  surprised  to  hear  that  He  had  called  quite  a 
large  number  of  you  to  Him,  in  order  by  you  to  teach  the 
world  His  love.  "  As  obedient  children,"  are  you  ready  to 
come  to  Constantinople  at  His  bidding,  or  to  go  into  any 
other  part  of  the  world,  in  order  to  give  to  perishing  men 
practical  lessons  of  humility,  faith,  and  love  ?  Be  sure  and 
first  learn  well  these  lessons  yourselves.  One  lovely  youth, 
whose  pleasant  countenance  I  shall  not  soon  forget,  came  to 
me  in  America,  and  to  my  first  salutation,  "  Will  you  be  a 
missionary  ?  "  the  answer  was  most  promptly  given,  "  I  will, 
if  you  will  tell  me  how"  Now,  my  dear  children,  if  you  are 
willing  that  the  good  Spirit  of  God  should  tell  you  how,  you 
will  learn  very  quick,  and  there  will  be  no  longer  any  lack 
of  missionaries. 

But  why  does  Jesus  call  so  many  little  children  to  Him  in 
heaven  ?  Because  He  has  so  much  use  for  little  children  in 
heaven.  Sometimes,  indeed,  His  calling  away  of  a  single 
little  child  is  made  the  greatest  possible  blessing  to  the  par 
ents,  to  the  brothers  and  sisters,  or  to  others,  who  survive 
here  on  earth ;  but  to  what  unspeakably  great,  delightful, 
and  blessed  services  He  must  have  called  them  above,  though 
we  know  not  now,  yet  we  shall  know  hereafter.  If,  then, 
any  ask  the  reason  why  so  many  are  called  away  in  very 
early  life,  "  Say  ye,  The  Lord  hath  need  of  them."  This  is 
answer  sufficient. 

But  will  you  remember  in  your  prayers  these  sorrowing 
parents,  with  their  weeping  children,  and  pray  that  they, 
and  all  our  families,  may  be  profited  by  Jesus  calling  so  sud 
denly  to  Himself  this  precious  little  Mary  Benjamin  ? 

"  A  child  in  heaven !  what  a  glorious  thought !  " 
From  your  aged  friend, 

W.   GOODELL. 


PATRIARCHS   REPROVED.  377 

To  the  Rev.  George  W.  Wood,  D.D.,  of  New  York,  for 
merly  his  associate  in  the  mission  at  Constantinople,  who  had 
returned  to  this  country,  and  was  now  acting  as  one  of  the 
Secretaries  of  the  American  Board,  he  wrote  in  regard  to 
the  prospects  of  the  work  at  the  Turkish  capital :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  Sept.  27,  1854. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  This  week  the  Sublime  Porte 
summoned  all  the  patriarchs  and  high  dignitaries  of  church 
and  State,  and  enjoined  it  upon  them  that  they  should  not 
oppress  their  respective  flocks,  nor  take  a  bribe  to  blind 
their  eyes  therewith.  Who  ever  heard  that  Nero  had  any 
occasion  to  call  up  St.  Paul  and  St.  Peter  for  a  similar 
purpose  ? 

And  is  it  to  be  supposed  that  the  high-priest  of  the  Jews, 
and  the  all-holy  patriarchs  of  the  Greek,  Armenian,  and 
papal  churches,  will  tell  one  lie  or  take  one  bribe  the  less  in 
consequence  of  this  high  command  from  the  Grand  Turk 
himself?  Not  at  all.  They  will  merely  do  the  thing  in 
another  way,  and  not  in  so  barefaced  a  manner. 

And  does  any  one  imagine  that  these  venerable  men,  who 
arrogate  to  themselves  the  title  of  All-holy,  felt  it  to  be  a 
mortifying  thing  for  them  to  be  admonished  in  this  way? 
Not  in  the  least.  It  would  not  suggest  the  idea  of  shame ; 
nor  would  it  abate  one  iota  from  the  high  opinion  they  enter 
tained  of  their  own  worthiness  to  sit  in  Moses'  seat,  or  to  be 
the  only  successors  of  St.  Paul. 

It  is,  indeed,  very  affecting  to  think  that  in  these  times  of 
public  calamity  and  suffering,  occasioned  by  war,  cholera,  and 
famine,  there  is  among  all  these  various  communities  no  such 
thing,  even  in  appearance,  as  humbling  themselves  before 
God,  turning  from  their  abominations,  or  seeking  after  truth 
and  salvation ;  but  every  one  goeth  on  still  in  his  trespasses, 
"  neither  repent  they  of  their  murders,  nor  of  their  sorceries, 
nor  of  their  fornication,  nor  of  their  thefts."  And  let  Pilate, 
Herod,  Barabbas,  no  matter  who,  reign  over  them,  what  care 
they,  provided  they  have  full  opportunity  to  deceive  and 
oppress  one  another  ?  But  "  away  with  this  man  ! "  we 
will  not  have  Christ  to  reign  over  us ;  no,  let  His  kingdom 
of  truth  and  goodness  be  put  far  away  from  us,  seems  to  be 
the  unanimous  vote  of  the  country.  And  thus  what  was 
sufficiently  evident  years  ago,  is  every  day  becoming  more 


378  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

and  more  conclusively  so,  viz.,  that  these  communities,  as 
such,  will  never  be  reformed,  and  that  "  their  end  is  destruc 
tion."  They  seem,  like  the  Jews  before  the  entire  extinc 
tion  of  their  civil  and  ecclesiastical  polity,  to  be  given  up  to 
litter  infatuation.  But,  blessed  be  God,  there  is  now,  as 
there  was  then,  a  new  spiritual  kingdom  set  up,  which  is 
daily  extending,  increasing,  and  gaining  in  influence,  num 
bers,  and  strength. 

Your  brother, 

W.   GOODELL, 

In  the  earlier  pages  of  these  Memoirs  it  is  stated  that,  on 
leaving  the  seminary  at  Andover,  in  1820,  Mr.  Goodell  made, 
on  behalf  of  the  Board,  a  visit  to  the  missions  among  the 
Cherokee  Indians.  Not  only  had  he  cherished  the  remem 
brance  of  that  visit,  through  his  many  years  of  toil  in  a  far 
distant  and  very  different  land,  but  it  was  remembered  with 
deep  interest  among  the  Indians.  He  received  more  than 
one  letter  from  the  daughters  of  the  tribe,  containing  dona 
tions  for  his  work  in  Turkey.  To  one  of  these  he  sent  the 
following  reply :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  June  6,  1855. 

MY  DEAR  CHEROKEE  DAUGHTERS,  —  Many  thanks  for 
your  letter,  and  for  the  beautiful  "  Cherokee  Rose  Buds." 
More  than  thirty-three  years  ago  I  was  in  your  nation,  at 
Brainerd  and  Creek  Path,  where  I  saw  your  sweet  sister, 
Catharine  Brown.*  She  had  just  given  all  the  love  and 
confidence  of  her  heart  to  the  precious  Saviour ;  and,  as  she 
had  now  no  further  use  for  her  ear-rings,  —  very  large  they 
were,  —  she  gave  them  to  me,  to  dispose  of  for  His  dear  sake. 
These  I  sold  for  $16.50,  and  paid  over  the  amount  to  the 
Treasurer  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  to  send  the  bread  of  life  to 
the  perishing  in  Palestine,  as  she  had  desired  me.  She  also 
gave  me  in  addition  three  dollars  for  the  same  object. 

This  little  rill  from  Creek  Path  was  one  of  the  tributaries 
to  the  great  stream  of  benevolence  which  has  since  carried 
so  much  fertility,  gladness,  and  salvation  to  every  part  of  the 

*  The  interesting  story  of  the  Christian  life  and  triumphant  death 
of  this  Indian  girl  has  been  preserved  in  a  volume  prepared  by  the 
Kev.  Dr.  Anderson,  Secretary  of  the  Board. 


CHEROKEE   DAUGHTERS.  379 

Turkish  empire.  And  now  there  comes  another  rill  from 
"near  Tahlequah,"  springing  out  from  amidst  the  "noble 
trees  "  that  "  lift  their  lofty  tops  proudly  to  the  blue  sky," 
in  full  view  of  that  beautiful  "  range  of  green  hills,  rising  one 
above  another,  the  most  noted  of  which  is  Park  Hill." 

Well,  my  dear  Cherokee  children,  this  little  rill  I  did  not 
suffer  to  blend  with  the  other  streams  that  flow  to  us  from 
the  far  West ;  but  I  turned  it  off  by  itself  to  Nicomedia, 
where  one  of  my  Armenian  daughters  is  cultivating  a  beau 
tiful  garden  of  choice  flowers,  that  are  never  to  fade.  Acabe, 
for  that  is  her  name,  has  eyes  as  black  and  as  bright  as  any 
of  my  Cherokee  daughters  can  boast.  She  was  educated  at 
our  female  boarding-school  in  Constantinople,  and  after 
ward  married  and  removed  sixty  miles  to  Nicomedia,  where 
she  at  once  opened  a  school  for  girls,  which  she  has  taught 
ever  since. 

But  this  little  rill  of  yours,  so  refreshing  and  so  pure,  does 
not  spend  itself  at  Nicomedia  ;  for  the  good  Acabe  has  another 
garden,  which  she  is  cultivating  with  great  care,  and  where 
she  has  already  planted  "  the  rose  of  Sharon  and  the  lily 
of  the  valley."  At  Bagtche-juk,  directly  across  the  gulf 
from  Nicomedia,  is  a  large  Armenian  village,  in  which  there 
is  no  native  pastor  and  no  native  helper,  and  which  we  our 
selves  can  very  seldom  visit  for  want  of  time.  Here  the 
people  are  wonderfully  waking  up  to  a  new  and  spiritual 
life.  And  over  here  Acabe  goes  every  vacation,  and  spends 
her  whole  time  in  visiting  from  house  to  house,  and  convers 
ing,  praying,  and  singing  with  the  women  and  children. 
Her  labors  there  are  appreciated  by  the  people,  and  we  deem 
them  highly  important.  But  she  is  poor,  and  some  means 
have  always  to  be  provided  to  defray  the  necessary  expenses 
of  her  mission.  What  you  have  contributed  is  just  about 
sufficient  to  cover  these  expenses. 

And  now,  my  daughters,  read  in  the  sixteenth  chapter  of 
Romans  abo  it  k*  Phebe  our  sister;"  about  "  Priscilla,"  so 
active  and  s:  good ;  about  "  Mary,"  together  with  "  Tryphena 
and  Trypho.xi,"  so  honorably  mentioned  by  Paul ;  and  about 
*'  the  beloved  Persis,  who  labored  much  in  the  Lord,"  —  and 
consider  Acabe  your  sister  as  worthy  to  be  reckoned  among 
them,  leaving  her  home  every  vacation,  and  giving  all  her 
time  to  the  work  of  the  Lord  at  Bagtche-juk.  She  is  also 
worthy  to  be  called  your  sister ;  for  she  is  as  timid  and  silent, 
as  modest  and  retiring,  as  any  good  Cherokee  girl. 


380          FORTY   YEARS  IN  THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

The  meaning  of  Bagtche-juk  is  Little  Garden.  And  re 
joice,  dear  children,  that  this  Little  Garden  is  now  watered 
by  the  stream  that  flows  directly  from  "  near  Tahlequah,"  in 
the  far  West.  And  not  only  has  this  beautiful  stream  come 
from  the  far  West,  but  —  did  you  know  it  ?  —  Miss  West  herself 
has  come  to  help  us,  and  is  now  the  beloved  teacher  of  the 
daughters  of  the  East  at  Constantinople.  She  and  all  her 
pupils  send  their  very  affectionate  salutations  to  you.  Among 
her  pupils  are  the  Misses  Queen,  Miss  Cleanliness,  from 
Broosa,  and  Miss  Eve,  not  Adam's  wife,  but  one  of  his  great- 
grand-daughters.  They  desire  me  to  tell  you  that  they  were 
exceedingly  interested  in  reading  your  paper,  particularly 
with  the  account  of  "  an  Osage  wedding,"  from  the  lively 
pen  of  Miss  "  Ka-ya-Kun-stah  ;  "  and  the  Misses  "  I  Can't  " 
—  for  I  am  sorry  to  say  there  are  some  of  this  name  in  our 
school  as  well  as  in  yours  —  were  greatly  affected  with  "  the 
Algebra  Sum  Soliloquy,"  and  with  the  marked  difference 
between  their  character  and  the  character  of  Miss  "  Perse 
verance."  They  wish  you  to  inform  them  in  your  next  what 
is  the  bill  of  fare  in  your  seminary,  whether  you  have  many 
rules,  whether  you  keep  them  all,  and  which  ones  you  are 
most  apt  to  break.  And  will  Miss  "  Ka-ya-Kun-stah,"  —  I 
wonder  what  it  means  —  give  us  a  description  of  a  Cherokee 
wedding  ? 

Remember  us  to  your  kind  teachers,  "  Misses  Avery  and 
Raymond,  from  New  England,  and  Miss  Jane  Ross,  a  Chero 
kee."  Remember  us  also  to  the  fair  "  Editresses,  Miss  Cath 
arine  Gunter  and  Miss  Nancy  E.  Hicks."  In  their  devotion 
to  "  the  good,  the  beautiful,  and  the  true,"  we  wish  them  all  the 
patronage  and  success  they  so  justly  deserve.  An  affection 
ate  remembrance  also  to  Dr.  Butler,  whom  I  knew  at 
Brainerd,  and  who,  if  he  has  not  been  "  in  prisons  oft,"  has 
been  in  a  prison  long,  —  "a  prisoner  of  Jesus  Christ  for  you  " 
Cherokees. 

In  your  next,  please  subscribe  your  own  names,  and  tell 
me  also  the  names  of  all  your  schoolmates,  for  I  like  to  know 
all  my  children. 

The  Lord  bless  you  and  your  school  and  your  teachers, 
with  your  parents  and  your  whole  nation !  May  we  all  be 
saved  from  our  sinful,  ruined  state,  and  meet  at  last  in  a 
world  of  purity  and  love,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord ! 
Thus  prays 

Your  aged  friend, 

W.    GOODELL. 


A   BAPTIST   CHURCH.  381 

The  letter  which  follows,  breathing  the  truly  catholic 
spirit  of  the  writer,  was  addressed  to  the  First  Baptist  Church 
of  Providence,  R.  I.,  in  acknowledgment  of  a  donation  to 
constitute  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Goodell  honorary  members  of  the 
American  Baptist  Missionary  Union.  The  pastor  referred 
to  was  the  Rev.  James  N.  Granger,  D.D.,  from  whom  they 
had  received  a  visit  at  Constantinople,  as  he  was  returning 
from  a  tour  among  the  Baptist  missions  in  the  East :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  Sept.  3,  1855. 

DEAR  BRETHREN"  AND  SISTERS  IN  CHRIST,  —  Of  the 
pleasant  and  profitable  visit  made  us  by  your  pastor  on  his 
return  from  India  we  often  speak,  and  still  oftener  think. 
And  that  example  of  true  Christian  liberality  you  have  re 
cently  furnished  us  has  brought  him  and  his  visit  again  before 
us  with  great  distinctness.  It  is  gratifying  to  us  in  no  ordi 
nary  degree  to  be  thus  constituted  honorary  members  of  your 
great  and  good  and  growing  missionary  society,  so  remark 
ably  owned  and  blessed  by  the  great  Head  of  the  church. 
Of  some  of  your  missionaries  and  their  wives,  of  your  Jud- 
sons  and  Boardmans  and  others,  I  have  known  so  much,  that, 
although  I  was  not  personally  acquainted  with  them,  they 
always  seemed  like  my  own  dear  brethren  and  sisters.  And, 
indeed,  they  belonged  not  exclusively  to  your  own  branch  of 
the  Christian  church,  but  rather  to  the  whole  general  assem 
bly  and  church  of  the  first-born,  in  heaven  and  on  earth. 
Some  forty-three  years  ago  1  heard  Dr.  Judson  preach  one 
evening  at  the  school-house  in  Andover  from  Isaiah  1.  11, 
"  Behold  all  ye  that  kindle  a  lire,"  &c.  Of  his  earnest  and 
serious  manner  I  have  a  very  distinct  recollection.  His  dis 
course  was  most  solemn  and  impressive,  and  a  blessing 
followed  it,  —  one  individual,  if  not  two,  being  hopefully  con 
verted  by  it,  I  was  also  present  at  Salem,  when  he  and  his 
associates  were  ordained  and  set  apart,  amidst  prayers  and 
tears,  to  the  sacred  work  of  preaching  Christ  to  the  heathen. 

May  the  Spirit  be  poured  out  abundantly  upon  all  your 
missions,  and  upon  ours,  and  upon  all  the  churches  of  Christ 
at  home  !  Why  should  we  rest  satisfied  with  drops,  when  we 
may  have  showers,  yea,  floods  !  For,  saith  Jehovah, u  I  will 
pour  water  upon  him  that  is  thirsty,  and  floods  upon  the  dry 
ground."  The  ground  is  everywhere  dry  enough  for  floods. 


382          FORTY  YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

Let  us,  then,  greatly  enlarge  our  desires  and  our  expectations, 
in  praying  both  for  ourselves  and  for  one  another.  When  we 
ask  great  blessings  for  ourselves,  we  need  not  feel  that  we 
are  depriving  anybody  else ;  and  however  great  blessings 
we  may  ask  for  others,  we  need  not  fear  that  we  shall  receive 
in  any  degree  the  less  ourselves.  Our  Father  is  very  rich, 
and  nothing  delights  Him  more  than  that  we  give  Him  an 
opportunity  of  imparting  liberally  to  all  the  needy.  Nor 
does  giving  impoverish  Him.  However  many,  and  however 
rich  blessings  He  may  bestow  upon  one,  He  has  none  the 
less  to  bestow  upon  all  others.  Let  us,  then,  be  encouraged 
to  ask  not  for  little,  but  for  much ;  not  only  for  the  churches 
at  home,  but  for  those  planted  in  heathen  lands  ;  and  not  only 
for  those  missions  supported  by  our  own  society,  but  for  those 
supported  by  other  Christian  societies.  So  long  as  we  are 
not  straitened  in  God,  why  should  we  be  in  our  own  selves  ? 

Additions  have  recently  been  made  to  all  our  three  churches 
in  Constantinople,  and  our  female  boarding-school  has  been 
again  visited  by  the  grace  and  spirit  of  God.  But  in  these 
times  of  war  and  desolation,  of  great  overturnings  and 
changes,  we  need  divine  influence  of  a  most  distinct  and 
impressive,  as  well  as  extensive,  character.  And  to  your 
prayers  do  we  commend  ourselves,  and  all  these  mingled, 
perishing  people  around  us. 

We  have  been  spared  to  see  great  and  wonderful  changes, 
since  Mrs.  Goodell  and  myself  came  to  this  Eastern  world,  a 
third  of  a  century  ago.  But  those  who  come  after  us  will 
see  still  greater  ;  and  herein  do  we  rejoice  ;  yea,  and  we  hope, 
by  the  mercy  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  rejoice  for  ever, 
being  sinners  saved  by  grace  alone. 

Affectionate  and  Christian  salutations  to  each  and  every 
member  of  the  church,  especially  to  those  with  whom  we 
have  the  happiness  to  be  acquainted,  including  your  worthy 
and  beloved  pastor.  The  Lord  bless,  comfort,  strengthen, 
and  establish  you  for  ever.  Thus  prays 

Your  unworthy  brother  in  Christ, 

W.  GOODELL. 


THE   CRIMEAN   WAR. 


383 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

A  THREATENING  cloud  gathered  over  the  missions 
in  Turkey  in  the  year  1853,  and  was  the  occasion  of 
much  anxiety  to  the  friends  of  the  cause  throughout  the 
world.  For  several  years  all  things  had  been  going  on 
quietly  and  prosperously.  The  Protestant  Christians  had 
been  made  secure  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  privileges ;  the 
hand  of  persecution  had  been  stayed,  and  the  evangelical 
churches  had  rest ;  the  missionaries  themselves  were  prose 
cuting  their  work  without  molestation  or  interference.  15ut 
a  new  cause  of  apprehension  sprang  up,  and  no  human  eye 
could  foresee  what  would  be  the  result.  There  were  some 
who  did  not  regard  it  with  so  much  fear,  who  even  hoped 
that  out  of  it  would  come  immediate  benefit  to  the  cause  of 
missions ;  but  for  the  most  part  the  missionaries  looked  upon 
it  with  dark  forebodings.  This  was  the  war  with  Russia, 
known  as  the  Crimean  War. 

The  immediate  and  ostensible  cause  of  the  war  was  the 
ancient  dispute  in  regard  to  the  Holy  Places  and  the  respec 
tive  rights  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  churches ;  but  the  real 
cause  was  to  be  found  in  the  ambitious  designs  of  the  Rus 
sian  government  upon  Turkish  territory.  The  acquisition 
of  Constantinople,  the  dismemberment  of  the  Ottoman  em 
pire,  and  its  partition  between  different  powers,  if  not  its 
entire  absorption  by  Russia,  had  unquestionably  been  the 
aim  of  the  Czars.  At  the  very  outset  Russia  claimed  the 
right  of  establishing  a  protectorate  over  the  millions  in 
the  Turkish  empire,  who  were  in  connection  with  the  Greek 
Church,  and  proceeded  to  exercise  it  in  the  Principalities, 


384          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE    TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

The  Russian  army,  in  July,  1853,  took  possession  of  the 
Danubian  Provinces,  and  thus  commenced  hostilities,  the 
Ottoman  Porte  making  a  formal  declaration  of  war  on 
the  1st  of  October. 

Early  in  the  following  year  the  missionaries  at  Constan 
tinople  set  apart  a  day  for  fasting  and  prayer  with  reference 
to  this  matter,  and  the  day  was  observed  with  deep  solemnity 
not  only  by  those  immediately  connected  with  the  mission, 
but  by  the  friends  of  the  cause  from  different  countries,  who 
were  resident  or  sojourning  at  the  capital.  Special  prayer 
was  offered  in  behalf  of  Lord  Stratford  de  Redcliffe  (for 
merly  Sir  Stratford  Canning),  the  British  ambassador,  that 
he  might  be  endued  with  the  spirit  of  wisdom  in  conducting 
his  important  negotiations,  and  that,  in  counselling  the  Sul 
tan,  he  too  might  have  counsel  given  to  him  from  above. 
Never  before  had  the  position  of  this  representative  of  the 
British  government  and  devoted  friend  of  the  cause  of  Christ 
been  so  responsible,  and  never  before  did  he  hold  such  influ 
ential  relations  to  the  Porte. 

In  1854,  when  the  governments  of  England,  France,  and 
Sardinia  made  common  cause  with  the  Ottoman  government 
for  the  sake  of  putting  a  check  on  the  ambition  of  Russia, 
and  sent  their  armies  to  Turkey  and  the  Crimea,  apprehen 
sions  of  the  disastrous  effect  of  the  war  upon  the  missionary 
work  were  not  dissipated,  but  rather  increased.  As  these 
large  armies  came  pouring  into  the  capital,  and  its  suburbs 
became  as  it  were  one  great  camp,  it  was  natural  to  fear  that 
such  a  state  of  things  would  seriously  interfere  with  the 
work.  But  in  the  midst  of  war  God  spread  a  shield  over 
His  servants.  At  no  previous  period  had  they  prosecuted 
their  labors  in  greater  quietness  and  peace,  or  with  clearer 
evidence  of  the  divine  presence  and  blessing. 

The  war  was  still  further  overruled  for  the  furtherance  of 
the  Gospel  by  becoming  the  occasion,  if  not  the  actual  means, 
of  securing  another  important  concession  from  the  Turkish 
government  on  the  subject  of  religious  liberty,  a  new  Magna 


HAITI    HUMAYOUN.  385 

Charta  for  the  Christian  subjects  of  the  Porte.  This  is 
known  as  the  Haiti  Sherif  (Sacred  Edict),  or  Haiti  Huma 
youn  (Imperial  P^dict)  of  1856,*  and  was  issued  on  the  author 
ity  of  the  Sultan  himself.  It  was  generally  regarded  at  the 
time  as  a  complete  guarantee  of  religious  liberty  to  all  the 
subjects  of  the  Ottoman  Porte,  of  whatever  creed,  and  an 
assurance  that  no  Mohammedan  who  chose  to  become  a 
Christian  should  suffer  on  that  account.  But  it  has  always 
been  questionable  whether  the  Turkish  government,  whose 
dealings  are  so  often  marked  by  duplicity,  the  prevailing  sin 
of  Orientals,  really  intended  that  it  should  have  such  an 
unlimited  significance.  Events  of  more  recent  occurrence 
give  greater  strength  to  such  doubts,  if  they  do  not  prove 
that  the  Porte  intended  only  to  make  more  secure  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  those  who  were  nominal  Christians  before. 

The  Haiti  Humayoun  was  recognized  by  the  contracting 
Powers,  Great  Britain,  France,  Austria,  Russia,  Sardinia, 
and  Turkey,  whose  representatives  met  to  form  the  treaty 
of  Paris  the  same  year ;  and  in  the  records  of  this  congress 
it  is  distinctly  stated  that  it  was  communicated  by  "His 
Imperial  Majesty  the  Sultan,"  as  "  emanating  spontaneously 
from  his  own  will ;"  but  a  clause  in  this  treaty  states :  "  It  is 
clearly  understood  that  it  cannot,  in  any  case,  give  the  said 
Powers  the  right  to  interfere,  either  collectively  or  sepa 
rately,  in  the  relations  of  his  Majesty  the  Sultan,  with  his 
subjects,  nor  in  the  internal  administration  of  his  empire." 
This  was  leaving  the  Turkish  government  to  put  its  own 
construction  upon  the  document,  and  to  administer  its  own 
domestic  affairs  in  its  own  way. 

The  Haiti  Humayoun  was  regarded  by  the  mission,  and 
by  the  friends  of  evangelical  Christianity  at  the  capital 
generally,  as  a  real  charter  of  religious  freedom  to  all  the 
subjects  of  the  Sublime  Porte,  not  excepting  the  Moham 
medans.  This  is  evident  from  their  action  at  the  time.  On 
the  oth  of  March,  1850  (the  edict  was  issued  in  February), 

*  For  the  full  text  of  the  Haiti  Humayoun,  see  the  Appendix. 
17  Y 


386  FORTY  YEARS    IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

eleven  missionaries  of  the  American  Board,  together  with 
four  other  missionary  laborers  and  two  British  chaplains 
united  in  presenting  to  Lord  Stratford  de  Redcliffe,  through 
whose  special  agency  the  charter  had  been  obtained,  an 
address,  acknowledging  in  the  warmest  terms  the  important 
service  he  had  rendered  to  the  cause  of  humanity  and  of 
Christianity  in  Turkey.  The  following  are  the  opening 
sentences  of  this  address  :  — 

"  The  undersigned,  Protestant  missionaries,  belonging  to 
various  Christian  churches  and  societies  of  Great  Britain 
and  America,  consider  it  their  duty  at  the  present  im 
portant  arid  auspicious  period  of  this  empire,  signalized 
by  the  publication  of  the  Imperial  Hatti  Sherif  of  the  reign 
ing  Sultan,  to  give  utterance  to  their  feelings  of  gratitude  to 
God,  the  giver  of  every  good  gift;  to  express  to  your  lord 
ship  their  entire  satisfaction  with  the  extent  and  the  spirit 
of  that  document  relative  to  religious  freedom  and  the  rights 
of  conscience ;  and  to  congratulate  you  on  the  honor  provi 
dentially  and  deservedly  conferred  upon  your  lordship  of 
having  become  instrumental  in  accomplishing  so  great  and 
so  good  a  work  for  the  millions  of  Turkey.  While  we  would 
gratefully  recognize  the  valuable  services  rendered  by  the 
representatives  of  several  other  countries  to  forward  this 
praiseworthy  end,  we  cannot  but  realize  that  the  accomplish 
ment  of  this  work  is  pre-eminently  due,  under  God,  to  the 
influence  of  the  representative  of  Great  Britain. 

"  From  the  beginning  of  the  disastrous  war,  still  pending 
between  the  great  Western  Powers  and  Turkey  on  one  side, 
and  Russia  on  the  other,  we  have  looked  upon  each  passing 
event  with  painful  and  prayerful  interest.  We  have  prayed 
for  the  maintenance  and  triumph  of  right,  and  for  the  speedy 
return  of  peace,  —  a  peace  re-establishing  justice  among  neigh 
boring  nations,  and  promoting  truth  and  righteousness,  and 
the  temporal  and  spiritual  prosperity  of  the  various  classes 
of  society,  and  the  different  nationalities  resident  in  the 
Turkish  empire.  We  have  always  believed  that  such  would 
be  the  result ;  and  this  has  been  our  comfort  amid  the  scenes 
of  horror  which  surrounded  us. 

"  Nor  has  our  hope  been  disappointed.  The  Imperial 
Hatti  Sherif,  lately  published,  has  convinced  us  that  our  fond 
expectations  are  likely  to  be  realized.  Turkey,  snatched 


TENTH    ANNIVERSARY.  887 

from  the  border  of  imminent  destruction,  will  see  a  better 
day.  The  light  will  shine  upon  those  who  have  long  sat  in 
darkness ;  and,  blest  by  social  prosperity  and  religious  free 
dom,  the  millions  of  Turkey  will,  we  trust,  be  seen  ere  long 
sitting  peacefully  under  their  own  vine  and  fig-tree." 

On  the  1st  of  July,  1856,  the  First  Protestant  Church  of 
Constantinople  held  its  tenth  anniversary ;  and  a  joyful  day 
it  was,  in  striking  contrast  with  that  on  which  the  church 
was  organized.  The  people  were  then  just  coming  out  from 
the  hiding-places  into  which  they  had  been  driven  by  perse 
cution  ;  some  had  but  just  returned  from  exile ;  others  were 
taken  out  of  prisons  and  delivered  from  torture ;  they  all 
came  out  of  great  tribulation  to  stand  up  before  God,  and 
enter  into  covenant  with  Him.  Forty  persons,  three  only 
of  whom  were  females,  subscribed  with  their  own  hands  unto 
the  Lord.  Faith  alone  supplied  the  hope  that  this  feeble 
band  would  become  a  great  people. 

But  now,  on  this  tenth  anniversary,  they  recorded  the  names 
of  thirty  native  Protestant  churches  that  had  been  organized. 
The  three  churches  at  the  capital,  Constantinople,  Pera,  and 
Hass  Keuy  united  in  celebrating  the  day  in  the  same  place 
in  which  the  first  church  was  formed.  Addresses  were  made 
by  the  native  pastors  and  the  missionaries.  They  joined  in 
prayer  and  praise,  and  united  in  commemorating  the  dying 
love  of  the  Redeemer  in  the  ordinance  of  the  Supper.  To 
those  who  had  seen  the  foundation-stones  of  this  living 

O 

temple  laid,  the  day  was  one  of  great  joy,  and  full  of  promise 
for  coming  decades. 


6 


Dec.  27,  1856,  he  writes  in  his  journal :  — 

"  About  two  months  ago  the  Bishop  of  Hass  Keuy  com 
menced  a  Turkish  service  in  the  Armenian  church  here, 
precisely  at  the  hour  of  my  service.  As  the  Armenians  at 
the  capital  understand  Armenian  much  better  than  Turkish, 
it  is  difficult  to  see  what  the  object  could  be,  except  to  pre 
vent  people  from  coming  to  our  chapel.  It  was  said  that  he 
preached  evangelically  ;  and  that  on  one  Sabbath  he  preached 


888          FORTY   YEARS  IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

not  only  at  the  same  hour,  but  from  the  same  text  I  did, 
and,  moreover,  divided  his  subject  precisely  in  the  same  way. 
As  I  preached  the  same  sermon  in  another  chapel  on  the 
previous  Sabbath,  it  is  supposed  he  must  have  had  a  reporter 
there  to  take  notes ;  for  my  treatment  of  the  subject  was 
not  such  as  an  Armenian  bishop  would  naturally  fall  upon. 
But  however  this  may  be,  '  Christ  is  preached,  and  I  therein 
do  rejoice,  yea  and  will  rejoice.'  The  text  on  this  occasion 
was.  '  The  Master  is  come,  and  calleth  for  thee.' " 

In  March,  1857,  Dr.  Goodell  drew  up  and  forwarded  to 
the  Board  an  elaborate  paper  on  "  The  Importance  of  Con 
stantinople  as  a  Missionary  Field,"  as  compared  with  some 
other  fields  on  which  a  large  amount  of  labor  and  money 
had  been  expended.  Only  the  heads  of  this  paper  can  here 
be  given :  — 

1.  Constantinople  is  a  great  world  in  itself.  It  contains, 
including  its  suburbs,  more  inhabitants  than  the  whole  Com 
monwealth  of  Massachusetts,  and  ten  times  as  many  as  all 
the  Sandwich  Islands.  2.  All  the  nationalities  of  the  empire 
are  represented  at  the  capital.  Every  sect  and  almost  every 
clan  in  the  empire  has  here  its  civil  and  ecclesiastical  head ; 
its  court,  to  which  all  appeals  are  made,  and  where  all  its 
business  of  any  importance  is  transacted.  3.  All  the  pashas 
and  acting  bishops,  or  vartabeds,  in  every  part  of  the  empire, 
go  out  from  Constantinople.  4.  Constantinople  is  the  great 
centre  of  Eastern  and  Western  Turkey.  It  stands  on  the 
margin  where  European  civilization  terminates,  and  where 
Asiatic  barbarism  commences.  5.  There  are  at  Constanti 
nople  not  less  than  fifty  thousand  foreigners,  from  England, 
France,  Germany,  Italy,  and,  indeed,  all  parts  of  Europe; 
and  the  greater  part  of  them  are  never  reached  by  any  evan 
gelical  influence. 

These  several  points  he  enforced  with  strong  argument, 
and  in  answering  the  objection  to  the  thorough  occupation 
of  this  stronghold  on  account  of  the  expense,  he  wrote :  — 

"  What  if  it  does  cost  more  to  maintain  a  mission  here 
than  anywhere  else  ?  So  it  cost  the  allied  armies  at  Sevas 
topol  an  amazing  amount  of  money  and  life  to  take  the 
place;  but  who  ever  thought  of  raising  the  siege  on  that 


389 

account?  Constantinople  is  much  the  same  to  us  that  Se 
vastopol  was  to  the  allied  armies.  To  get  possession  of 
Sevastopol  was  to  possess  at  once  more  than  the  whole 
Crimea ;  and  to  possess  Constantinople  is  to  disarm  at  once 
every  hostile  organization  throughout  the  whole  empire." 

The  importance  of  these  suggestions  has  not  passed  away, 
and  never  will,  until  the  great  stronghold  of  Mohammedan 
power  and  influence  is  brought  under  the  power  of  the 
Gospel. 

During  the  long  residence  of  Lord  Stratford  de  Redcliffe 
at  the  Turkish  capital,  as  British  ambassador,  Dr.  Goodell 
had  enjoyed  his  intimate  friendship  and  confidence ;  and  on 
the  occasion  of  his  departure  to  England,  at  the  close  of  his 
period  of  important  service,  an  event  which  was  deeply 
deplored  by  every  Christian  missionary  in  Turkey,  Dr. 
Goodell  addressed  to  him  the  following  letter,  expressive  of 
his  own  personal  regret  and  regard :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  July  1,  1858. 

MY  LORD,  —  I  cannot  let  this  opportunity  pass  without 
assuring  your  Lordship  of  the  deep  regret  we  all  feel  at  the 
little  prospect  we  have  of  seeing  you  again  at  Constantinople. 
But  certainly  we  should  be  very  ungrateful  not  to  acknowl 
edge  the  wise  providence  that  brought  you  to  this  land,  and 
that  kept  you  here  for  so  many  years ;  and  this,  too,  at  a 
time  when,  in  the  changes  called  for,  your  influence  was 
mighty,  and  mighty  for  good.  In  these  changes  your  name 
stands  connected  with  all  that  is  worthy  to  rise  and  prosper, 
with  all  that  is  stable  and  enduring.  Connected  as  it  is  with 
the  great  cause  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  it  stands  con 
nected  with  that  which  shall  never  pass  away,  for  it  is  as 
eternal  as  the  immutable  purpose  of  Infinite  Goodness  can 
make  it.  And  when  this  cause  shall  triumph  in  Turkey 
(and  triumph  it  shall),  and  the  future  history  of  the  country 
shall  be  written,  the  influence  and  important  agency  of  your 
Lordship  will  not  fail  of  a  public  recognition  and  a  due 
acknowledgment.  May  all  our  unworthy  names  be  found  at 
last  written  in  the  Lamb's  Book  of  Life !  And  may  we  all 
be  eternally  connected  with  that  kingdom  of  truth  and  good 
ness,  "  of  the  increase  of  which  there  shall  be  no  end  "  I 


890     FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH  EMI  IRE. 

Mrs.  Goodell  unites  with  me  in  very  kind  regards  to  Lady 
Redcliffe  and  to  your  daughters.  May  the  divine  blessing, 
in  all  richness,  attend  both  you  and  them. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c. 

To  the  corresponding  secretary  of  a  missionary  society  at 
Phillips  Academy  he  wrote :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  Dec.  9,  1858. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND,  —  My  daily  walks  lead  me  through  a 
large  Jewish  cemetery,  containing,  I  should  judge,  not  less 
than  a  hundred  acres  of  graves.  Slabs  of  white  marble 
cover  the  whole  ground.  From  the  days  of  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella,  when  the  Jews  were  expelled  from  Catholic  Spain 
and  found  a  refuge  at  the  capital  of  the  bigoted  Moslem, 
this  great  field  has  been  for  the  most  part  their  place  of 
interment.  Here  lie  buried  hundreds  of  thousands  of  that 
rejected  race  who,  while  they  lived,  spat  at  the  name  of 
Jesus,  and  died  with  curses  on  their  lips.  They  generally 
lie  with  their  feet  towards  Jerusalem,  that,  when  they  rise 
from  their  graves,  their  faces  may  be  towards  the  holy  city. 

Some  seventy  or  eighty  thousand  Spanish  Jews,  the  de 
scendants  of  those  who  lived  in  the  days  of  Columbus,  still 
reside  in  Constantinople  and  its  suburbs ;  and  among  them 
all  it  is  to  be  feared  that  not  ten  can  be  found  who  feel  the 
need  of  any  such  Saviour  as  God  has  provided.  Will  you 
offer  special  prayer  for  these  poor  Jews  ?  For  unless  the 
Spirit  of  the  living  God  breathe  upon  them,  the  preacher 
might  as  well  go  into  this  great  cemetery  I  have  described, 
arid  call  upon  the  past  generations  to  come  out  of  their 
graves,  as  to  go  into  the  families  or  into  the  synagogues  of 
the  present  generation,  and  urge  them  to  admit  the  claims 
of  Jesus  to  be  the  Messiah,  the  Christ,  the  Lord's  anointed. 

But  the  Jews  are  one  of  the  smallest  of  the  communities 
here.  The  Greeks  are  much  more  numerous  than  they  ;  the 
Armenians  are  much  more  numerous  than  the  Greeks ;  and 
the  Turks  are  more  than  all  the  others  combined.  And 
"  what  is  the  ratio  of  labor  to  the  population  ?  "  you  ask.  I 
inswer,  about  the  same  as  ten  ministers  for  all  Massachusetts. 
Suppose  that  every  thing  in  Massachusetts  relating  to  morals, 
to  education,  and  to  religion  were  to  depend  upon  ten  men, 
and  these  foreigners,  and  for  the  most  part  mere  stammerers 
in  the  language ;  that  if  any  preaching  was  to  be  done,  they 


HELP   NEEDED.  391 

must  do  it ;  that  if  a  congregation  was  to  be  gathered,  they 
must  go  round  and  collect  it ;  that  if  they  wished  a  place  to 
hold  their  meetings,  they  must  find  it  and  fit  it  up ;  that  if 
they  would  have  a  Sabbath  school,  they  must  establish  and 
superintend  it ;  that  if  there  were  to  be  any  free  schools,  or 
boarding-schools,  or  seminaries  of  a  still  higher  character, 
they  must  establish  them,  support  them,  and  provide  teachers 
for  them,  and  also  teach  in  them  themselves ;  that  if  any 
school-books  were  to  be  used,  they  must  prepare  them ;  that 
if  a  stove,  or  fuel,  or  any  thing  else  was  necessary,  they  must 
procure  it ;  that  if  the  Scriptures  or  any  other  good  books 
were  to  be  read  in  all  Massachusetts,  they  must  translate 
and  print  them,  and  send  persons  round  to  put  them  in  cir 
culation  ;  that  if  justice  was  to  be  administered  in  any  of  the 
courts,  they  must  lie  awake  whole  nights  and  think  how  they 
can  exert  a  little  influence  here  and  a  little  there  to  secure 
BO  desirable  a  result ;  and,  to  mention  but  one  thing  more, 
if  any  good,  sweet  bread  was  to  be  eaten  in  all  Massa 
chusetts,  they  must  show  how  it  can  be  made,  and,  moreover, 
that  it  can  be  made  without  kneading  with  the  feet ;  —  sup 
pose  all  this,  and  much  more  of  a  similar  kind,  do  you  not 
think  these  ten  men,  with  very  limited  means  placed  at  their 
disposal,  would  often  find  themselves  at  their  wits'  end?  And 
would  they  not  declare  it  to  be  your  solemn  duty  to  help 
them  iu  Massachusetts,  rather  than  to  go  West,  where  we 
will  suppose  the  destitution  to  be  exactly  what  it  is  known 
to  be  there? 

Now,  apply  this  to  Constantinople,  and,  in  fact,  to  this 
whole  country,  and  you  may  see  at  once  our  necessities  and 
your  duty  in  relation  to  them.  In  the  name  of  the  great 
Head  of  the  church,  then,  we  cordially  invite  the  members 
of  your  society  to  come  and  help  us.  In  the  name  of  all 
the  perishing  multitudes  around  us,  we  earnestly  entreat 
that  you  will  let  nothing  prevent  your  coming  but  a  provi 
dence  so  special  as  not  to  be  misunderstood. 

Before  I  close,  let  me  say  that  my  recollections  of  Phil 
lips  Academy  are  very  pleasant.  It  is  almost  forty-eight 
years  since  I  went  there  to  pursue  my  preparatory  studies, 
and  I  have  great  reason  to  be  thankful  for  the  privileges  I 
there  enjoyed.  May  divine  influence  be  every  year  richly 
enjoyed  there !  And  in  this  blessing  may  all  the  members 
of  your  society  largely  share !  You  and  they  are  at  one  of 
the  very  best  academies  in  our  highly  favored  country,  and 
may  your  improvement  correspond  to  your  privileges ! 


392          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

Remember  me  very  kindly  to  the  principal,  Mr.  Taylor, 
and  believe  me  to  be 

Yours  most  truly, 

W.    GOODELL. 

The  following  correspondence,  though  chiefly  personal, 
will  be  read  with  no  less  interest  on  that  account:  — 

BEBEK,  Feb.  3,  I860. 

DEAR  BROTHER  GOODELL,  —  Do  you  remember  Feb 
ruary  3d,  1839  ?  It  had  been  a  snowy  day  and  night  on  the 
2d.  We  cast  anchor  in  the  Golden  Horn  late  in  the  even 
ing  of  the  2d,  and  I  went  up  on  deck  and  could  see  nothing 
but  straggling  lights.  Early  in  the  morning  I  was  up,  and 
all  the  roofs  were  covered  with  snow,  although  it  was  not 
ea  tremely  cold.  Henrietta  came  up  and  asked,  "  Is  this 
Constantinople?"  But  after  we  had  looked  round  in  all 
directions  we  agreed  that  it  was  "  beautiful  for  situation,"  — 
a  truly  glorious  city. 

Mr.  Homes  came  in  a  caique,  and  we  recognized  him  from 
his  portrait,  which  we  had  seen  at  his  father's.  We  came 
ashore  with  him.  Oh  what  mud  and  slosh !  We  were  glad 
to  reach  Father  Goodell's  house  twenty-one  years  ago  this 
morning.  Belle  and  Mary  were  little  bits  of  girls,  and 
William  and  Constantine  were  little  boys,  and  II.  was  only 
in  the  decrees.  What  changes  of  joy  and  grief !  What 
heart-breaking  sorrows,  what  long  watchings,  what  days  and 
hours  of  anxious  suspense,  what  forebodings  of  coining  ill, 
what  anguish  of  heart  at  the  bedside  of  suffering  and  death, 
and  what  peace  and  joy  intermingled,  have  made  this  life  a 
checkered  scene  !  ;i  I  would  not  live  alway,"  although  I  can 
sing  of  mercy  as  well  as  judgment. 

Not  less  strange  have  been  the  vicissitudes  of  our  work. 
Freedom  of  conscience  acknowledged  in  Turkey !  Mussul 
mans  baptized  and  preaching  the  Gospel  in  safety  !  Churches 
formed,  churches  built!  Protestantism  an  acknowledged 
element  of  the  empire !  Unwilling  ambassadors  compelled 
to  protect  what  they  hate  !  "  Kings  to  shut  their  mouths ! " 
God  has  truly  done  great  things  for  us  in  these  twenty-one 
years,  since  from  that  quiet  room  Henrietta  and  I  used  to 
look  down  upon  Cassim  Pasha  and  that  part  of  the  Golden 
Horn. 

The  next  twenty-one  years  will  see  greater  things  than 


TWENTY-ONE    YEARS   AGO.  393 

ihese,  but  ere  that  shall  have  passed  we  shall  all,  I  trust, 
look  down  upon  the  events  of  time  from  Mount  Zion  above. 
Love  to  Mamma  Goodell  and  all. 

Yours  truly, 

C.  HAMLIN. 

HASS  KEUY,  Feb.  3,  18GO. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  Yes,  I  remember  well  the  snowy 
morning  you  and  your  good  wife  came  to  us  twenty-one 
years  ago  to-day.  Isabella  and  Mary  were  then  our  young 
est  children.  The  others  were  not  yet,  except  in  the  pur 
poses  of  Him  who  calleth  things  that  be  not  as  though  they 
were.  One  of  our  children,  with  whom  you  and  William 
and  myself  used  in  stormy  weather  to  roll  marbles  in  the 
large  hall,  has  been  taken  from  us.  Two  of  our  children  are 
happily  settled  in  life,  and  two  others  are  looking  forward 
with  bright  anticipations  to  the  same  happy  state.  Their 
mother,  who  for  some  fifteen  years  was  a  great  sufferer,  is 
now  through  great  mercy  restored  to  as  good  health  as  could 
reasonably  be  expected  by  one  of  her  age.  Their  father, 
who  at  his  best  estate  was  never  more  than  half  a  man,  is 
now  encompassed  with  the  infirmities  of  age. 

But  while  my  own  powers  fail,  I  rejoice  to  see  the  health, 
strength,  and  vigor,  which  is  still  granted  to  my  brethren, 
some  of  the  oldest  of  them  entering  or  ready  to  enter  upon 
new  fields  and  new  schemes  of  labor  and  effort,  demanding 
all  the  activity  and  energy  of  manhood.  May  they  long 
continue  to  increase,  although  1  must  decrease ! 

It  is  now  more  than  thirty-seven  years  since  I  came  to  the 
East,  and  near  twenty-nine  years  since  I  removed  to  Con 
stantinople.  Wonderful  moral  changes  have  taken  place 
during  this  time,  and  though  I  find  myself  sinking,  I  rejoice 
to  see  evidence  that  the  blessed  cause  is  rising,  and  that 
greater  things  than  I  have  seen  will  be  witnessed  by  those 
who  come  after. 

May  your  own  life  and  health  be  long  spared !  the  new 
enterprise  which  you  undertake  be  greatly  prospered !  and 
your  family,  a  second  time  scattered,  and  once  more  restored, 
be  abundantly  blessed !  May  your  heart  be  made  glad  ac 
cording  to  the  years  in  which  you  have  been  afflicted,  and 
the  days  in  which  you  have  seen  evil !  And  at  last  may  you 
and  we  cast  anchor,  not  in  the  Golden  Horn,  but  before  the 
Golden  City,  and  meet  with  a  more  joyful  reception  in  our 

17* 


394          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

Father's  house  above,  than  you  met  with  at  Father  Goodell's 
twenty-one  years  ago ! 

Your  very  affectionate  brother  in  Christ, 

W.    GOODELL. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  his  youngest  brother  in 
1860,  he  wrote  to  his  bereaved  wife,  then  in  Washington 
Territory :  — 

MY  DEAR  AFFLICTED  SISTER,  —  Of  the  sudden  death  of 
my  youngest  brother,  your  own  beloved  husband,  and  the 
father  of  your  dear  children,  I  heard  on  the  6th  inst.  And 
be  assured  I  have  you  and  your  fatherless  ones  in  constant 
and  tender  and  prayerful  remembrance.  The  Lord  comfort 
your  hearts,  and  greatly  sanctify  to  you  and  to  us  all  this 
dispensation  of  His  providence !  Our  heavenly  Father  in 
his  dealings  with  us  commits  no  mistakes.  Too  wise  to  err, 
and  too  good  to  afflict  willingly,  He  always  has  the  very  best 
reasons  for  all  that  He  does,  although  we  in  our  childish 
weakness  understand  them  not. 

I  wrote  my  good  brother  the  24th  of  last  January,  having 
just  learned  from  our  sister  Phebe  the  place  of  his  residence. 
Oh  that  I  had  learned  it  sooner,  for,  alas  !  he  had  already  gone 
to  that  country  with  which  our  post-office  regulations  have 
no  connection.  But,  blessed  be  God !  it  is  not  an  unknown 
territory  to  which  he  has  gone.  It  is  "  the  better  country," 
of  which  we  have  heard  and  read  so  much,  and  which  is  so 
accurately  described  in  our  great  and  good  chart.  And 
"  there  shall  be  no  night  there,"  no  darkness,  poverty,  sick 
ness,  fear,  oppression,  no  sin  and  misery,  no  grave-yard  nor 
sign  of  death.  What  glorious  negatives !  We  know  some 
thing  of  the  glorious  King  and  His  blessed  government  and 
His  happy  subjects.  And  may  our  thoughts  often  go  up 
there !  the  whole  strong  current  of  our  affections  be  turned 
thither  !  And  may  we  all  at  last,  through  infinite  grace,  have 
an  abundant  entrance  there. 

Will  you  inform  me  how  all  your  children  are  situated  ? 
Would  that  I  could  step  in  and  inquire  after  your  welfare, 
and  ask  in  what  way  I  could  be  of  service  to  you !  But 
though  I  cannot  do  this,  yet  by  knowing  your  circumstances 
I  shall  know  better  how  to  pray  for  you  and  yours.  The 
Lord  God,  not  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living,  bless  you  and 
your  children,  and  may  they  in  early  life  give  their  love, 
their  confidence,  to  Christ,  who  is  worthy  of  all. 


THREE   PAIRS    OF   SPECTACLES.  395 

My  dear  wife  and  children  unite  with  me  in  love  and  sym 
pathy  for  you  and  yours.  Will  you  remember  me  in  your 
prayers  ?  I  am  old  and  gray -headed,  and  shall  soon  follow 
my  beloved  brother. 

Shall  you  remain  in  Washington  Territory  ?  If  you  re 
move,  do  not  fail  to  give  me  seasonable  notice,  that  I  may 
know  how  to  direct  my  letters.  Though  I  know  you  not 
personally,  yet  I  love  you  as  having  been  the  wife,  and  as 
having  contributed  to  the  happiness,  of  the  dear  departed 
one,  and  I  subscribe  myself, 

Your  ever  affectionate  and  truly  sympathizing  brother, 

W.    GOODELL. 

March  6,  1860,  he  wrote :  — 

"  An  aged  woman  was  added  to  the  Evangelical  church 
last  Sabbath.  She  is  the  very  one  of  whom  I  once  made 
mention  as  putting  on  three  pairs  of  spectacles,  so  great  was 
her  eagerness  in  learning  to  read  the  word  of  God." 

The  record  that  he  had  made  of  the  case,  May  19,  1847, 
was  this  :  — 

"  You  can  hardly  conceive  of  the  waking  up  of  the  female 
mind  in  our  little  community.  Every  female  member  of  our 
church  can  now  read,  and  this  has  been  acquired  in  most 
instances  from  the  impulse  which  piety  in  the  heart  has  given 
to  the  intellect.  This  spirit  is  now  extending  from  the 
church  through  the  whole  community,  and  even  mothers  and 
grandmothers  are  learning  to  read,  in  order  that  they  may 
peruse  the  Holy  Scriptures  for  themselves.  You  would  be 
amused  to  see  one  grandmother  with  three  pairs  of  specta 
cles,  all  without  bows,  and  all  stuck  fast  from  the  bridge 
straight  on  toward  the  tip  of  the  nose,  making  it  unnaturally 
sharp  in  appearance  and  not  a  little  obstructive  to  the  sound 
of  the  voice,  and  she  occasionally  peering  over  the  top  of  the 
whole  three  to  ask  you  a  question,  with  a  look  of  as  much 
animation  as  any  professor  in  a  theological  chair  !  Until  the 
present  year  she  appeared  to  feel  no  interest  in  eternal 
things." 

The  missionary  circle  at  Constantinople  were  favored  with 
the  presence  and  the  cordial  sympathy  of  many  residents 
from  other  lands  who  loved  the  cause  in  which  they  were 
engaged.  There  were  not  a  few  Christian  men  and  Chris- 


896          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE    TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

tian  families,  with  whom  social  intercourse  was  a  Christian 
privilege,  and  the  moral  aid  they  gave  to  the  missionaries  in 
their  work  of  evangelization  was  by  no  means  light.  We 
have  had  frequent  occasion  to  mention  the  important  service 
rendered  from  time  to  time  by  Lord  Stratford  de  Redcliffe 
in  the  various  difficulties  that  arose  as  the  Gospel  was  taking 
effect  upon  the  different  communities.  The  missionaries  had 
still  another  warm  friend  and  helper  among  the  foreign 
ambassadors  in  Count  de  Zuylen,  who  represented  the  king 
dom  of  the  Netherlands.  He  was  a  warm-hearted,  evangel 
ical  Christian,  and  his  residence  at  the  Turkish  capital,  where 
he  did  not  hesitate  to  make  himself  known  as  of  the  same 
household  of  faith  with  the  ambassadors  for  Christ  who  were 
beseeching  men,  in  Christ's  stead,  to  be  reconciled  to  God, 
was  in  itself  a  benediction.  The  letter  which  Dr.  Goodell 
addressed  to  him  on  the  occasion  of  his  promotion  to  a  high 
position  under  his  own  government  at  home  sets  forth  his 
character  and  the  value  of  his  presence  as  a  man  of  God :  — 

HASS  KEUT,  CONSTANTINOPLE,  March  12,  I860. 
To  His  Excellency  COUNT  DE    ZUYLEN   DE   NYEVELDT, 

Dutch  Ambassador,  fyc.  : 

MY  VERY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  was  so  taken  by  surprise  to-day, 
that  I  did  not  once  think  to  congratulate  you  or  the  good 
Countess  on  your  elevation  to  a  more  desirable  post.  It  was 
very  selfish  in  me  to  think  only  of  our  own  loss,  and  to  ex 
press  to  you  nothing  but  our  regrets  at  the  change  which 
has  taken  place  in  your  prospects.  But  God's  great  hand  is 
to  be  acknowledged  everywhere.  It  was  His  good  provi 
dence  that  brought  you  and  your  family  here,  and  we  bless 
His  name  for  it.  So  it  is  His  good  providence  that  now 
says  to  you,  "  Come  up  higher,"  and  we  offer  you  our  hearty 
congratulations.  You  came  here  at  the  very  right  time,  and 
you  have  greatly  encouraged  us  in  our  work,  not  only  by 
your  influence  in  your  official  capacity,  but  by  the  high  moral 
stand  you  and  your  beloved  family  have  been  enabled  to  take 
and  maintain  in  this  great  and  wicked  city.  May  the  grace 
of  God  be  ever  abundant  towards  you !  and  may  His  kind 
hand  ever  lead  and  guide  you  !  May  your  new  situation  be 


REVIVALS   IN    AMERICA.  397 

as  much  more  pleasant  and  your  influence  and  means  of  use- 
fulii3ss  as  much  greater  than  before,  as  your  post  will  be 
more  honorable !  Be  assured  our  prayers  and  best  wishes 
will  ever  attend  you.  We  commend  you  to  God  and  to  the 
word  of  His  grace.  And  to  your  prayers  do  we  commend 
ourselves  and  our  work. 

Mrs.  Goodell  and  all  my  family  unite  in  the  very  kindest 
regards  to  the  good  Countess,  and  to  Miss  Nixon,  and  to  all 
those  lovely  plants  round  about  your  table.  We  had  hoped, 
as  soon  as  the  warm  spring  should  come,  to  see  you  all  at 
Hass  Keuy ;  but  this  hope  we  must  now  relinquish.  May 
we  all  at  last,  through  infinite  mercy  in  .Christ  Jesus  our 
Lord,  be  permitted  to  walk  together  under  those  living  trees, 
by  those  living  fountains  of  water,  which  are  in  the  midst  of 
the  paradise  of  God ! 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  My  dear  Count, 

Your  very  affectionate  brother  in  Christ, 

W.  GOODELL. 

The  remarkable  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the 
churches  of  the  United  States  in  1857  and  1858,  and  the  con 
version  of  a  great  multitude  of  souls,  was  nowhere  the  occa 
sion  of  greater  joy,  and  nowhere  awakened  more  fervent 
thanksgivings,  than  in  Turkey.  Missionaries  the  world  over, 
perhaps  above  all  other  men  and  women,  are  alive  to  all  that 
relates  to  the  prosperity  of  the  cause  of  Christ  at  home, 
knowing  that  in  the  divine  constitution  of  things  it  reacts  at 
once  upon  the  prospects  of  the  church  abroad.  They  look 
to  the  church  at  home  not  as  the  fountain  of  divine  influence, 
but  as  the  channel  through  which,  in  a  great  measure,  that 
influence  is  communicated  by  prayer,  and  by  personal  conse 
cration  to  God's  service,  to  the  extremities  of  the  body  of 
Christ. 

While  the  Spirit  was  yet  poured  out  from  on  high,  Dr. 
Goodell  wrote  to  a  friend  in  this  country,  who  had  forwarded 
an  account  of  the  work :  — 

"  We  thank  you  for  sending  us  that  report  of  the  gracious 
visit  of  the  Lord  of  glory  to  the  churches  of  our  native  land. 
Surely  He  is  walking  in  the  midst  of  the  golden  candlesticks 


398          FORTY   YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

in  our  beloved  country,  and  holding  the  stars  in  His  right 
hand,  and  from  the  seven  spirits  that  are  before  the  throne 
communicating  larger  measures  of  divine  influence  and  spir 
itual  blessing  than  we  find  recorded  in  any  previous  part  of 
the  history  of  the  church.  Of  the 'glorious  things  spoken' 
of  Zion,  and  promised  to  her,  we  had  often  read  before,  but 
by  every  week's  post  we  now  hear  of  the  '  glorious  things ' 
actually  done  for  her,  and  our  spirits  are  stirred  within  us." 

These  tidings  awakened  the  most  earnest  expectations  of 
a  similar  blessing  for  the  young  Protestant  churches  of  Tur 
key,  and  they  excited  a  corresponding  hope  that  the  churches 
of  America  would  come  up  with  fresh  zeal  and  almost  new 
born  power  "  to  the  help  of  the  Lord,  to  the  help  of  the  Lord 
against  the  mighty."  For  one  or  two  years  Dr.  Goodell, 
in  common  with  his  brethren,  continued  to  await  the  intelli 
gence  of  a  grand  accession  to  the  strength  of  the  church  in 
carrying  on  its  aggressive  work  among  the  nations,  until,  in 
the  beginning  of  the  year  1860,  he  was  moved  to  address, 
through  the  "  New  York  Observer,"  a  series  of  letters  to  the 
Christians  of  his  native  land.  The  first  was  superscribed, 
"  To  the  Hundreds  of  Thousands  of  Young  Converts  in 
America"  and  contained  an  earnest  appeal  for  an  entire 
consecration  of  themselves  to  the  service  of  their  divine  and 
chosen  Master. 

This  was  followed  about  a  month  later  by  a  communica 
tion  "  To  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  the  United  States  of 
America,"  in  which  he  urges  them  to  come  up  to  a  higher 
standard  of  living  for  God,  and  with  themselves  to  devote 
their  property  to  the  advancement  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
in  the  world.  The  following  is  a  brief  extract :  — 

"  In  the  great  increase  that  is  to  be  made  to  the  church 
in  the  latter  days,  the  Prophet  Isaiah  sees  them  coming  in 
crowds,  and  bringing  *  their  silver  and  their  gold  with  them  ; ' 
that  is,  devoting  their  wealth  to  the  name  and  worship  of 
Jehovah,  to  be  employed  in  His  blessed  service.  And  had 
any  of  those  left  their  '  gold  and  frankincense '  behind ;  or 
had  they  left  '  the  flocks  of  Kedar,'  with  '  the  multitude  of 


MARRIAGE    OF    A   DAUGHTER.  899 

camels '  and  *  the  dromedaries  from  Midian,'  behind  them, 
in  the  dark  regions  of  idolatry,  where  they  could  themselves 
go  back  every  day  to  enjoy  them,  —  would  they  have  been 
received  and  incorporated  among  the  true  Israel  ?  Certainly 
not.  They  would  have  been  rejected,  as  still  devoted  to 
idolatry,  and  possessing  substantially  the  same  character  as 
before. 

"  Now,  beloved  friends,  the  present  are  those  latter  days 
of  glory  foretold  by  the  prophet.  And  have  you  looked  to 
see  whether  the  crowds  that  now  come  up  to  join  themselves 
to  the  Lord  are  bringing  '  their  silver  and  their  gold  with 
them  ? '  Have  you  made  any  inquiry  ?  Have  you  gone  into 
any  examination  of  the  subject?  Jf  you  have  not,  we  in 
Constantinople  have ;  and  we  have  been  amazed  beyond 
measure  to  find  that  while  there  has  been  such  a  great  in 
crease  of  names  to  the  records  of  the  church,  there  has  been 
comparatively  little  addition  to  the  *  whole  burnt  offerings 
and  sacrifices'  made  to  the  Lord." 

To  the  widowed  wife  of  a  former  missionary  to  Constan 
tinople,  then  residing  in  this  country,  he  sent  the  following 
playful  invitation  to  attend  the  marriage  of  his  daughter, 
which  was  to  take  place  a  few  days  later:  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  June  26,  1860. 

MY  DEAR  SISTER,  —  Our  daughter  Mary  expects  to  change 
her  name  on  the  6th  of  July.  Will  you  and  Samuel  and 
Frances  and  Charley  grace  the  occasion  by  your  presence  ? 
Do  try  and  come.  You  will  meet  many  of  your  old  friends, 
and  we  will  try  and  arrange  every  thing  pertaining  to  the 
ceremony  so  that  you  shall  get  home  before  dark. 

But  time  changeth  all  things,  and  I  must  not  forget  that 
you  are  no  longer  in  Pera,  but  have  removed  to  another 
country.  1  wonder  whether,  after  our  removal  to  a  better 
country,  even  an  heavenly,  we  shall  be  able  or  be  permitted 
to  be  present  on  every  grand  occasion  or  great  celebration 
that  takes  place  among  the  glorified  ones  above.  I  know  of 
two  bright  spirits  who  had  to  deny  themselves  and  forego 
the  pleasure  of  being  present  on  one  of  the  grandest  occa 
sions  it  is  possible  to  conceive.  When  the  Son  of  God 
"  went  up  where  He  was  before,"  and  all  heaven  poured 
forth  to  do  Him  honor,  and  the  high  command  was  given, 
"  Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye  gates,  and  be  ye  lifted  up,  ye 


400  FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

everlasting  doors,  and  the  King  of  glory  shall  come  in,"  two 
of  the  blessed  angels  could  not  be  present.  They  could  not 
delay  a  moment  to  view  the  pageant,  but  must  hasten  down 
to  a  little  mountain  near  Jerusalem,  in  order  to  give  some 
directions  to  eleven  poor  fishermen.  And  how  many  others 
were  sent  off  in  other  direction's  to  other  worlds  we  know 
not.  But  was  it  no  self-denial  in  them  to  be  absent  from 
this  most  blessed  occasion  ? 

Let  us,  then,  learn  to  exercise  self-denial  here,  that  it  may 
not  seem  hard  to  us  there.  Let  us  learn  to  exercise  faith, 
confidence,  and  a  firm  trust  in  God  here,  for  we  shall  have 
to  confide  in  Him  for  ever. 

Always  your  brother, 

W.    GOODELL. 

To  another  friend  in  this  country,  with  whom  he  had  long 
been  in  correspondence,  he  wrote :  — 

"I  hope  that,  in  some  of  the  many  mansions  we  may 
occupy  hereafter,  we  shall  be  much  nearer  to  each  other's 
habitations  than  we  now  are,  and  that  our  good  Newbury- 
port  friends  will  be  quite  in  our  neighborhood.  What  blessed 
introductions  await  us !  And  as  to  our  location,  and  the 
location  of  our  friends,  as  to  the  particular  mansions  assigned 
to  us  or  to  them,  I  presume  we  shall  be  perfectly  satisfied, 
not  having  the  slightest  change  to  suggest.  Well,  let  us  be 
satisfied  with  those  we  now  occupy,  for  they  were  assigned 
to  us  by  the  same  loving  Father." 

The  jubilee  of  the  American  Board  of  Missions  was  cele 
brated  in  I860.  The  occasion  was  observed  with  sacred 
interest  at  Constantinople.  Dr.  Goodell  was  appointed  to 
prepare  a  historical  address,  which  he  did,  interweaving  his 
record  with  numerous  personal  reminiscences  of  the  deepest 
interest.  He  had  been  associated  with  many  of  the  earlier 
mUs!onaries  to  the  different  parts  of  the  world;  he  was 
present  at  the  ordination  of  Judson,  Nott,  Newell,  Hall,  and 
Rice,  at  Salem,  Mass.,  in  1812,  two  years  after  the  organiza 
tion  of  the  Board;  h«  btood  on  the  wharf  when  the  first 
company  of  missionaries  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  sailed  from 
Boston  in  1819,  one  of  his  own  kindred  being  in  that  coin- 


THE   HAITI    HUMAYOUN.  401 

pany ;  down  through  the  whole  history  of  the  Board  he 
had  watched  its  work  and  its  progress  with  an  interest  ex 
ceeded  in  the  case  of  no  other  of  its  missionaries,  and  in  that 
work  he  had  been  honored  with  bearing  no  insignificant 
part.  Not  among  all  the  friends  of  this  noble  institution,  so 
honored  of  God  in  sending  the  tidings  of  the  Gospel  through 
the  world,  was  there  one  who  had  been  more  completely 
identified  with  it,  or  who  had  prayed  with  more  constancy, 
or  labored  more  faithfully  for  its  prosperity.  And  now  it 
was  a  joyful  service  to  be  permitted  to  celebrate  its  success 
by  recounting  its  history,  and  giving  all  the  praise  to  God. 

On  the  Gth  of  November,  18GO,  Dr.  Goodell,  who  had  then 
resided  at  the  Turkish  capital  nearly  thirty  years,  made  the 
following  expression  of  his  views  in  regard  to  the  attitude  of 
the  government  toward  foreigners  and  toward  Christianity, 
and  of  the  results  of  the  issuing  of  the  Hatti  Ilumayoun :  — 

"When  we  first  came  to  Turkey,  and  for  many  years 
after,  we  could  not  live  in  Constantinople  proper,  nor,  indeed 
(after  the  influence  of  our  labors  began  to  be  felt),  in  any 
of  its  suburbs,  except  Pera.  Although  other  Franks  had 
summer  residences  in  different  places,  still  this  privilege  was, 
through  the  influence  of  the  Armenians,  Greeks,  and  Catho 
lics,  denied  to  us ;  and  it  was  with  great  difficulty,  and  only 
after  long  and  very  strenuous  efforts,  that  we  obtained  a  foot 
hold  in  Bebek.  But  the  Turks  now  no  longer  listen  to  the 
representations,  or  rather  misrepresentations,  of  our  emetines, 
and  we  live  without  molestation  wherever  we  chooso,  even 
in  the  very  city  itself.  The  change  in  this  respect  is  cer 
tainly  very  great,  and  it  would  be  ungrateful  to  deny  it. 

"  Formerly  our  schools  and  our  religious  assemblies,  al 
though  they  were  in  our  own  private  apartments,  were  liable 
at  any  time  to  be  interrupted.  Being  unauthorized,  they 
were  irregular,  and  as  such  they  were  without  the  pale  of 
protection.  But  now  we  can  open  schools  and  consecrate 
chapels  wherever  we  please,  and  we  can,  in  case  of  necessity, 
claim  the  protection  of  government.  Then,  all  who  wished 
to  have  religious  intercourse  with  us,  or  receive  any  kind  of 
instruction  from  us,  were  obliged  to  come  all  the  way  to 
Pera,  however  great  the  distance,  and  to  be  received  into 


402          FORTY  YEARS   IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

our  own  apartments,  however  great  the  inconvenience  to 
ourselves.  Now,  '  the  kingdom  of  God  is  come  nigh  unto 
them,'  and  we  can  meet  them  in  their  own  suburbs  and  in 
their  own  houses,  and  we  can  open  both  schools  and  chapels 
in  their  own  villages. 

"  It  is  said  that  the  grand  charter  of  religious  toleration 
in  Turkey  exists  only  in  name,  and  is  virtually  a  dead  letter. 
To  this  it  is  sufficient  to  reply  that  before  the  Haiti  Huma- 
youn  there  were  more  cases  of  persecution  reported  to  us 
every  week  than  there  are  now  in  a  whole  year.  Then, 
much  of  our  time  and  strength  was  taken  up,  and  all  our 
wisdom  and  influence  were  employed,  in  endeavoring  to 
secure  protection  for  those  who  were  persecuted  for  right 
eousness'  sake.  Now,  cases  of  persecution  are  only  occasional, 
and  our  time  and  strength  are  employed  in  our  appropriate 
missionary  work. 

"  Again,  it  is  said  that  the  Turks  are  insincere  in  their 
professions  of  toleration,  and  that  it  is  only  under  foreign 
pressure  they  are  ever  brought  to  act  in  favor  of  it.  But  it 
would  be  much  more  in  accordance  with  tKuth  to  say  that, 
so  far  as  Protestantism  is  concerned,  it  is  only  under  such 
pressure  that  they  have  ever  been  brought  to  act  against  it. 
There  is,  and  there  always  has  been,  ten  times  (perhaps  I 
should  say  a  hundred  times)  as  much  influence  exerted  upon 
the  Turkish  government  against  liberty  of  conscience  as  has 
ever  been  exerted  in  favor  of  it.  These  Armenian  and 
Greek  and  Catholic  communities  are  themselves  mighty, 
and  they  exert  a  mighty  influence ;  and  they  are  always 
exerting  it  against  each  other,  each  endeavoring  to  enlist  the 
Turk  on  his  side.  Now,  all  these  mighty  communities  united 
all  their  mighty  energies  to  oppose  Protestantism.  To  se 
cure  the  swOrd  of  Mohammed  in  their  cause,  they  spared 
neither  bribes  nor  falsehoods ;  and,  furthermore,  they  were 
backed  up  by  the  influence  of  the  Greek  and  Russian  and 
nearly  or  quite  all  the  papal  governments,  through  their 
representatives,  their  ministers,  consuls,  dragomans,  and 
numerous  attaches  at  the  Sublime  Porte. 

"The  influence,  then,  which  was,  and  which  still  is  exerted 
upon  the  Turkish  government  against  religious  liberty  is 
more  powerful  than  can  well  be  expressed.  But,  blessed  be 
God !  there  is  now  another  influence,  the  pressure  of  which 
they  begin  to  feel,  and  we  most  devoutly  pray  that  they  may 
it  more  and  more.  Whatever  influence  the  represeuta- 


CHANGES   WROUGHT.  403 

tives  of  England  and  of  other  Protestant  governments  have 
exerted  upon  the  Turkish  government  in  favor  of  Protestant 
ism,  has  been  mainly  in  opposition  to  other  mighty  influences 
of  a  most  adverse  character.  Whoever  has  read  the  '  Mis 
sionary  Herald '  for  the  last  forty  years  must  have  seen  that 
in  perhaps  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a  hundred  our  persecu 
tions  have  come  not  from  the  Turks,  but  from  these  corrupt 
churches,  —  the  Turks  never  of  themselves  showing  a  dispo 
sition  to  molest  us,  arid  being  drawn  in  to  side  with  our  per 
secutors  only  when  under  this  terrible  outside  pressure  to 
which  we  have  alluded. 

"  But  it  will  be  asked,  Did  not  the  other  European  powers 
unite  with  England  in  procuring  the  Ilatti  Ilumayoun  ?  We 
answer,  yes ;  at  any  rate,  they  assented  to  it ;  some  of  them 
perhaps  not  really  expecting  it  would  ever  go  into  effect,  or, 
at  any  rate,  be  of  universal  application ;  for,  in  point  of  fact, 
it  is  more  or  less  opposed  to  the  very  principles  and  practices 
of  their  governments  at  home.  And  by  the  persecuting 
churches  here,  that  part  of  its  provisions  which  relates  to 
liberty  of  conscience  is  regarded  as  any  thing  rather  than  a 
blessing,  for  it  is  really  an  infringement  of  their  liberty  to 
*  bite  and  devour  one  another.'  Liberty  of  worship  in  their 
own  churches,  and  according  to  their  own  forms,  they  already 
had  to  perfection,  and  '  they  needed  no  more,'  as  an  intelli 
gent  Greek  gentleman  once  said  to  me.  l  What,'  said  he,  in 
speaking  of  this  document,  in  reference  to  liberty  of  con 
science,  *  what  is  the  use  of  this  Ilatti  Ilumayoun?  We  had 
before  just  as  much  liberty  as  we  wanted.'  And  so  they 
had ;  but,  blessed  be  God !  this  Ilatti  Sherif  prevents  them 
from  abridging  the  liberty  of  others.  Thus  the  carrying  out 
of  the  principle  involved  in  this  feature  of  it  strikes  terror 
into  all  these  wicked  churches ;  and  it  is  this  which  has 
awakened  the  wrath  of  a  near  neighbor  of  ours  (Russia) 
almost  to  frenzy,  she  calling  it  'persecution.' 

"  But  to  the  Protestant  communities  here,  and  to  all  who 
will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus,  this  Ilatti  Ilumayoun  is  a 
boon  of  priceless  value.  Heretofore  its  principal  use  was 
to  secure  us  from  the  molestation  of  these  corrupt  churches, 
but  we  have  now  begun  to  test  its  importance  with  reference 
to  the  Mohammedans  themselves.  Only  a  few  years  &ince 
the  headless  bodies  of  apostates  from  the  Mohammedan  faith 
might  be  seen  '  lying  in  the  streets  of  the  great  city ;  and  for 
three  days  and  a  half  their  bodies  were  not  suffered  to  be 


404  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

put  into  graves;'  and,  unless  flight  from  the  country  was 
possible,  nothing  better  than  this  was  ever  expected.  But 
now  such  apostates  may  be  seen  at  all  hours  of  the  day, 
walking  these  same  streets  without  any  apparent  danger, 
urging  the  claims  of  Christianity  even  in  the  very  courts  of 
the  royal  mosques,  and  teaching  and  preaching  in  the  chapel, 
and  in  the  private  circle,  and  sometimes  even  in  the  palaces 
of  the  great,  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God 
the  Father.  And  all  this  wonderful  security  is,  under  God, 
owing  entirely  to  the  liatti  Humayoun." 

Mention  was  made  in  a  previous  chapter  of  a  young  Greek 
who  welcomed  Dr.  Goodell  on  his  first  arrival  at  Constant;- 
nople,  and  who  was  soon  after  taken  into  the  service  of  tl.e 
mission,  in  which  he  remained  a  faithful  and  devoted  laborer, 
until  he  was  removed  by  death,  March  11,  18G1.  The  fol 
lowing  tribute  to  his  precious  memory,  written  by  Dr.  Good- 
ell  at  the  time  of  his  death,  deserves  a  place  in  his  own 
memoirs,  as  well  for  its  historical  as  for  its  personal  in 
terest  :  — 

"  Mr.  Panayotes  Constantinides  was  called  to  the  knowl 
edge  of  divine  truth,  and  to  trust  in  Christ,  about  thirty  years 
ago ;  and  through  all  his  subsequent  life  his  path  was  that 
of  the  just,  shining  more  and  more  unto  perfect  day.  During 
this  time  he  was  variously  employed,  sometimes  for  months 
together,  as  dragoman  to  the  American  legation,  but  more 
generally  as  a  teacher,  a  translator,  or  a  preacher  of  the  Gos 
pel  of  Christ,  under  the  direction  of  the  missionaries  of  the 
American  Board.  Some  of  the  best  of  the  Armeno-Turkish 
hymns  were  composed  by  him.  All  the  early  petitions  which 
the  Protestants  presented  to  the  Porte,  in  the  terrible  persecu 
tions  they  suffered,  setting  forth  their  grievances  and  asking 
for  redress,  were  drawn  up  by  him.  When  the  Sublime  Porte 
created  a  board  of  instruction,  composed  of  one  person  from 
each  of  the  different  communities,  Mussulman,  Jewish,  and 
Christian,  Mr.  Panayotes  was  selected  to  represent  the 
Protestants  in  that  council.  When  a  censorship  of  the  press 
was  established,  and  one  from  each  community  was  to  be 
chosen  to  meet  monthly  and  examine  all  books  proposed  for 
publication,  Mr.  Panayotes  was  the  one  selected  on  the  part 
of  the  Protestants  for  this  service. 


DEATH    OF    PANAYOTES.  405 

"  But  his  most  important,  and  what  may  be  called  the 
crowning  work  of  his  life,  was  the  help  he  afforded  in  trans 
lating  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  into 
Armeno-Turkish.  In  translating  and  revising  and  carrying 
through  the  press  several  editions  of  these  Scriptures  he  was 
a  very  efficient  helper.  He  was  engaged  in  the  work  of 
revision  when  his  Master  came  and  called  him  home.  He 
had  reached  the  first  chapter  of  Joel  when  he  laid  down  his 
pen,  and  said  to  me,  with  a  smile,  *  I  am  going  home.'  And, 
indeed,  he  was  already  almost  there.  His  health  had  been 
failing  for  many  months,  but  he  worked  on  until  he  could  do 
no  more. 

"  Though  he  was  naturally  very  timid,  yet  in  his  last  days 
he  feared  no  evil.  His  mind  was  filled  with  peace,  and  his 
heart  overflowed  with  thankfulness.  He  had  forsaken  the 
religion  of  his  fathers  for  the  sake  of  Christ ;  his  first  wife 
had  no  sympathy  with  him  in  the  change,  his  older  children 
had  left  him  ;  but  he  said  to  me  the  very  last  week  of  his  life, 
'I  have  received  a  hundred-fold  in  this  life,  yea,  I  have  re 
ceived  more  than  a  thousand-fold.  From  my  own  blessed 
experience  I  can  testify  that  this  word  of  His  is  true.'  When 
I  spoke  to  him  of  the  blessed  labors  in  which  he  had  been 
engaged,  he  replied,  *  Yes,  but  they  are  not  my  Saviour ;  all 
my  works  I  call  only  bad  ;  I  throw  them  all  away  ;  away  with 
them,  I  cannot  look  at  them ;  on  every  page  I  have  written 
1  see  only  sin  ;  for  salvation  I  look  to  Christ  alone,  and  He 
is  all-sufficient.'  I  fell  on  my  knees  by  his  couch  and  prayed 
that  the  sins  with  which  every  page  of  our  translations  had 
been  stained  might  be  forgiven,  and  I  commended  our  brother 
affectionately  to  that  Saviour  who  had  come  to  take  him  to 
His  own  glorious  kingdom. 

"  And  he  has,  I  doubt  not,  gone  to  be  with  Joseph  and 
David  and  Daniel,  with  James  and  John  and  Paul,  with 
patriarchs  and  prophets  and  apostles,  and  with  his  and  their 
Saviour,  Jesus  Christ.  For  with  all  these  he  seemed  much 
better  acquainted  than  with  his  nearest  neighbors.  With 
the  latter  he  had  not  associated  the  hundredth  part  so  much 
as  he  had  with  the  former.  His  conversation  had  long  been 
with  those  in  heaven,  and  he  seemed  to  us  all  to  be  going 
there,  not  as  a  stranger,  but  as  a  fellow-citizen  with  the 
saints,  and  as  one  of  the  same  blessed  household. 

"  He  had  formerly  expressed  a  great  deal  of  anxiety  about 
his  family  and  his  nation,  but  he  lived  to  see  one  of  his  sons 
a  missionary  to  the  Greeks,  in  the  service  of  the  National 


406  FORTY    YEARS   IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

Scotch  Church,  and  one  beloved  daughter  employed  as  a 
teacher  in  the  same  holy  service.  Pie  fell  asleep  in  the 
sixty-fifth  year  of  his  age,  on  the  morning  of  March  the  llth, 
1861,  and  the  following  day  devout  men  carried  him  to  his 
burial." 

In  a  letter  to  a  friend  in  this  country  he  speaks  of  the 
annual  meeting  of  the  mission  at  Constantinople  in  June, 
1861:  — 

"  Our  annual  meeting  closed  on  the  17th  inst.,  and  the 
representation  from  the  different  stations  in  the  interior, 
east  and  west,  was  unusually  large.  There  were  seventy- 
nine  of  us  in  all,  thirty  of  whom  were  children.  There  were 
sixteen  little  ones  under  three  years  of  age.  Such  a  fine 
assortment  of  missionary  babies  I  never  saw  before.  Oh 
that  they  could  all  have  been  photographed  in  a  group! 
One  day  I  had  a  prayer-meeting  with  the  mothers  and  their 
infant  babes.  One  day  Mr.  Morgan  from  Antioch  had  a 
meeting  with  the  children,  when  twenty-five  of  them  took 
hold  of  hands  and  sang,  '  There  is  a  happy  land,'  and  i  I 
want  to  be  an  angel.'  One  day  I  preached  a  sermon  to  the 
mothers.  One  day,  in  concert  with  the  annual  meeting  at 
Kharpoot,  in  far  Eastern  Turkey,  arranged  by  telegraph, 
we  had  in  the  morning  a  prayer-meeting  for  our  country,  and 
in  the  afternoon  the  annual  sermon,  the  communion,  and  two 
baptisms.  They  at  Kharpoot  had  three  baptisms,  —  one  of 
them  William  Goodell,  the  son  of  our  Mary. 

"  One  day  was  held  the  anniversary  of  our  auxiliary  Bible 
Society,  when  Sir  Henry  Bulwer,  British  ambassador,  pre 
sided,  and  Dr.  SchaufiHer  made  one  of  his  best  speeches.  Mr. 
Morgan,  from  the  Southern  mission,  gave  us  many  interesting 
particulars  of  the  work  in  that  field.  There  are  sixteen  hundred 
pupils  in  the  Sabbath  school  at  Aintab,  the  blessed  Bible  the 
only  text-book.  The  Christian  song-book  we  have  prepared 
for  them  they  sing  with  mighty  voice,  and  this  not  only  in  the 
church,  but  at  home,  where  many  of  their  ungodly  neighbors, 
even  the  Turks,  can  hear  and  learn.  All  the  filth  and  offal 
of  the  city  are  carried  out  of  the  city  into  the  fields  by  poor 
Turkish  boys,  in  bags  on  miserable  donkeys.  In  returning 
for  fresh  loads  they  jump  on  and  ride  without  saddle  or 
bridle,  and  sometimes  a  dozen  of  them  may  be  seen  riding 
as  fast  as  they  can  make  the  poor  creatures  go,  their  faces 
and  hands  for  days  unwashed,  their  hair  streaming  in  the 


THREESCORE  AND   TEN.  407 

wind,  their  clothes  all  tattered  and  torn,  and  they  all  singing 
at  the  top  of  their  voices  through  the  streets  of  Aintab,  '  I 
want  to  be  an  angel,'  &c.,  in  the  hearing  of  the  Cadi,  the 
Mufti,  the  Governor,  and  all  others,  great  and  small.  These 
poor  boys  are  never  troubled  with  the  bronchitis,  and  their 
clear  voices  are  heard  at  a  great  distance.  And  who  can  tell 
how  many,  by  hearing  those  wonderful  words,  may  wake  up 
to  a  new  life,  and  enter  upon  new  trains  of  thought  and  feel 
ing  and  action." 

On  reaching  the  age  of  seventy  he  wrote  to  one  of  his 
sisters :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  Feb.  14,  18G2. 

MY  DEAR  SISTER  MARY,  —  I  am  this  day  threescore  and 
ten  years  old,  —  a  long  time  to  live  in  this  world,  and  to  find 
every  day  food  to  eat,  raiment  to  put  on,  and  air  to  breathe. 
I  seem  now  to  be  standing  on  the  banks  of  the  Jordan,  where 
I  see  others  passing  over,  and  where  I  can  see  the  shining 
throng  beyond ;  and  for  no  worldly  consideration  would  I 
retrace  my  steps  and  turn  back  into  the  wilderness.  To  turn 
back  for  any  thing  earthly  is  like  "  taking  a  leap  into  the 
dark,"  to  press  forward  is  like  coming  to  u  the  general  assem 
bly  and  church  of  the  first-born,  whose  names  are  written  in 
heaven."  Blessed  be  God,  sin  dies  and  grace  reigns.  I  feel 
more  and  more  that  I  have  made  a  most  blessed  exchange 
with  Christ,  giving  Him  all  my  nothingness  and  sinfulness, 
and  taking  all  His  fulness  and  goodness;  and  thus,  though  I 
mid  nothing  in  myself  worthy  of  divine  acceptance,  I  find 
every  thing  worthy  on  me,  viz.,  His  righteousness,  "  which  is 
to  all  and  upon  all  them  that  believe."  And  thus, 

"  I'm  a  poor  sinner,  just  nothing  at  all, 
But  Jesus  Christ  is  my  all  in  all." 

He  who  has  taken  care  of  me  these  many  days  and  months 
and  years  is  abundantly  able  to  provide  for  me  and  make 
me  happy,  when  days  and  months  and  years  are  no  more. 
How  happy  to  feel  that  we  shall  never  be  separated  from 
His  love,  His  people,  His  kingdom  !  How  happy  to  be  even 
now  walking  and  living  and  conversing  with  the  world's 
Saviour,  —  our  Saviour,  whom  having  not  seen  we  love,  and 
of  whom  we  have  brighter,  clearer,  more  precious  views,  than 
we  have  of  "  the  shining  throng  beyond." 

Your  brother, 

WILLIAM. 


408          FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

IN  the  spring  of  1862,  Dr.  Goodell  was  appointed  a  dele 
gate  to  the  annnal  meeting  of  the  Central  Turkey 
Mission,  to  be  held  at  Aleppo.  Although  very  feeble,  he 
was  encouraged  by  his  brethren  to  undertake  the  journey, 
which  he  did  the  more  readily  because  it  afforded  him  the 
only  opportunity  he  would  probably  ever  enjoy  of  revisiting 
the  scenes  of  his  earliest  labors  in  the  East.  He  was  ac 
companied  as  far  as  Alexandretta  by  several  members  of  his 
family,  who  went  on  to  Beyrout,  to  meet  him  on  his  return 
from  Aleppo.  At  Alexandretta  he  was  joined  by  his  friend 
and  former  associate,  Rev.  S.  H.  Calhoun.  Together  they 
set  out  on  the  overland  journey  to  Aleppo,  tarrying  for 
a  day  at  Antioch,  where  they  were  to  be  joined  by  other 
missionaries.  As  they  were  about  to  engage  in  their  morn 
ing  worship,  before  resuming  their  journey,  on  Wednesday, 
the  26th  of  March,  a  messenger  came  in  with  the  tidings 
that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Coffing,  of  Adana,  whom  they  were  ex 
pecting  to  meet,  had  been  shot  by  robbers  or  assassins  near 
Alexandretta,  and  mortally  wounded.  Mr.  Calhoun  imme 
diately  returned  to  the  place  and  found  him  dead.  Within 
about  an  hour  of  Alexandretta,  Mr.  Coffing  and  his  two 
attendants  had  been  fired  on,  and  all  of  them  wounded.  One 
of  the  attendants,  a  pious  Armenian,  died  soon  after,  but  the 
other,  a  Moslem,  though  severely  wounded,  recovered.  The 
assassins  were  apprehended  after  long  delay,  and  one  of  them 
executed ;  the  other  made  his  escape. 

This  occurrence  not  only  excited  some  degree  of  appre 
hension  in  regard  to  the  safety  of  travel  on  horseback  through 


GOING    TO    ALEPPO.  409 

the  country,  it  cast  also  a  shadow  over  the  meeting  at  Aleppo. 
But  no  further  violence  was  offered  to  any  of  the  travellers. 

On  this  journey  an  incident  occurred  showing  the  impres 
sion  made  upon  the  minds  even  of  Mohammedans  by  the 
consistent  lives  of  those  who  had  embraced  true  Christianity 
through  the  teachings  of  the  missionaries.  The  impression 
is  quite  the  opposite  to  that  made  by  the  adherents  of  the 
corrupt  Oriental  churches  in  their  accustomed  worship  and 
by  their  daily  walk.  Dr.  Goodell  and  his  party  were  obliged 
to  spend  a  night  on  the  way,  at  a  Turkish  cafe.  In  the 
morning,  finding  themselves  surrounded  by  a  noisy  crowd  of 
Turks,  as  there  was  no  place  for  retirement,  the  question 
arose  whether  it  was  best  to  have  their  usual  worship  in  the 
midst  of  such  a  crowd.  Dr.  Goodell  said,  "A  Mussulman 
never  hesitates  to  say  his  prayers  at  the  proper  time,  wher 
ever  he  may  be,  and  why  should  we  ?  "  A  portion  of  Script 
ure  was  then  repeated  aloud,  and  Dr.  Goodell  knelt  to  pray. 
He  had  scarcely  commenced  before  the  Turks  ceased  talking. 
He  soon  ceased  praying  in  English,  and  continued  his  prayer 
in  the  Turkish  language.  He  asked  the  protection  and 
blessing  of  God  upon  themselves,  and  implored  temporal 
and  spiritual  blessings  in  behalf  of  the  people  of  the  country, 
and  in  particular  for  those  who  were  then  present,  entreat 
ing  the  forgiveness  of  sin,  in  the  name  and  for  the  sake  of 
Jesus  Christ.  As  he  closed,  the  "Amen"  was  heartily 
echoed  by  the  Mussulmans  from  all  sides  of  the  cafe.  When 
the  party  had  risen  from  their  knees,  the  Turks  clustered 
around  them,  inquiring  who  and  what  they  were.  "  Are 
you  Protestants  ?  "  said  they.  "  What  are  Protestants  ?  "  in 
quired  Dr.  Goodell.  "  They  are  those  who  do  not  tell  lies," 
replied  one ;  "  Those  who  do  not  cheat,"  said  another ; 
"  Those  who  believe  only  in  the  Bible,  and  try  to  live  as  it 
tells  them,"  added  a  third.  "  Yes,"  said  Dr.  Goodell,  "  we 
are  Protestants ! " 

His  observations,  made  in  the  course  of  his  journey  and 
while  at  Beyrout,  show  the  great  changes  that  had  taken 
18 


410          FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

place  since  he  first  entered  Turkey.     The  following  inter 
estin    account  he  wrote  at  the  time  :  — 


"  In  this  Southern  field  I  found  myself  at  once  among  the 
people  for  whose  benefit  I  had  spent  the  strength  of  my  life  ; 
and  no  one  will  be  surprised  to  hear  that  I  felt  constrained 
to  offer  special  thanks  to  God  for  helping  me  to  translate 
those  glorious  words  which  had  there  been  preached  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven,  making  the  desert 
blossom  as  the  rose.  The  place  I  visited  seemed  to  be  a 
part  of  my  own  great  parish,  and  I  was  more  desirous  than 
ever  before  of  making  a  pastoral  visitation  through  the 
whole. 

"  The  mission  families  appeared  to  be  very  happy.  Although 
some  of  them  were  alone  in  the  wilderness,  and  three  days' 
journey  from  any  others,  yet  they  and  their  little  ones  seemed 
the  picture  of  contentment  and  happiness.  Instead  of  say 
ing  with  a  repining  spirit,  l  How  can  we  sing  the  Lord's 
song  all  alone  in  this  strange  land,'  the  voice  of  joy  and 
praise,  of  thanksgiving  and  making  melody,  was  heard  in 
their  habitations.  And  I  would  ride  far,  even  through 
storm  and  tempest,  to  hear  again  their  sweet  songs  of  Zion. 
Indeed,  all  these  little  missionary  spots,  with  which  the 
whole  country  is  now  dotted,  were  each  one  like  an  oasis  in 
the  desert. 

"  At  some  of  the  missionary  stations  the  Gospel  has  taken 
such  root  that  it  seems  to  be  growing  up  as  in  its  own  native 
soil,  and  it  is  already  bringing  forth  its  appropriate  fruit. 
The  work  of  the  missionary,  if  it  be  not  already  completed, 
yet  seems  on  the  very  point  of  being  so  ;  and  there  is  evi 
dently  more  danger  that  he  will  in  some  instances  stay  too 
long  than  that  he  will  go  too  soon.  At  Aintab,  for  example. 
the  church  supports  its  own  pastor,  its  own  common  schools, 
of  which,  with  those  in  the  neighborhood,  there  are  nine,  and 
takes  upon  itself  the  supply  of  all  the  out-stations  except  one. 
The  missionaries  of  that  place  ask  for  no  appropriation  ex 
cept  for  the  theological  class,  the  Female  Boarding-school, 
and  for  one  out-station.  For  all  the  rest  the  church  at  Aintab 
provides  ;  and  for  all  these  various  objects,  including  pro 
vision  for  their  poor,  and  their  taxes  to  government,  the  sum 
total  raised  the  last  year  was  $2,556,  averaging  $1.25  lor 
every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  community.  The  con 
gregation  is  already  much  too  large  for  one  pastor,  and  the 


VISIT   TO    BEYIIOUT.  411 

church  has  recently  and  very  wisely  made  arrangements  to 
settle  another,  and  thus  have  two  churches  instead  of  one. 

"  In  the  good  providence  of  God  I  was  permitted  on  my 
way  back  to  join  my  family  at  Bey  rout.  That  was  my  first 
field  of  labor,  and  this  was  my  first  visit  to  it,  after  an  absence 
of  thirty-four  years.  Nearly  half  of  the  original  members 
of  the  little  church  gathered  there  thirty-seven  years  ago 
still  survive,  and  are  bringing  forth  fruit  in  old  age ;  '  but 
some  are  fallen  asleep.'  In  their  history  I  was  deeply  in 
terested.  A  son  of  two  members  of  that  little  church  is  now 
a  missionary  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  at  Aleppo, 
arid  he  has  the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  the  wise  and 
good.  A  sister  of  his  is  the  wife  of  a  German  missionary 
in  Egypt.  His  own  wife  is  the  daughter  of  two  other  orig 
inal  members  of  that  little  church,  and  her  sister  is  an  as 
sistant  to  the  deaconesses  in  their  important  establishment  at 
Beyrout.  All  these  are  hopefully  Christians. 

"  One  of  the  original  members  of  that  little  church  is  now 
living  at  Sidon,  and  sustains  the  reputation  of  being  a  worthy, 
exemplary  Christian  man,  with  a  Christian  family.  Another 
of  the  original  members,  when  we  first  knew  her  thirty-nine 
years  ago,  was  a  worshipper  of  the  Virgin.  She  is  now  the 
excellent  wife  of  one  of  our  own  beloved  missionaries,  one 
of  her  daughters  is  the  wife  of  another,  and  all  her  other 
five  or  six  children,  excepting  the  youngest,  are  members  of 
the  church  of  Christ.  Thirty-seven  years  ago  she  became 
united  to  Christ,  and  her  own  prospects,  with  those  of  her 
children,  and  of  her  children's  children,  were  changed  for 
ever.  We  were  happy  to  sit  once  more  with  this  aged  sister 
in  heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus,  repeating  many  beautiful 
hymns  and  verses  of  Scripture,  and  speaking  of  the  way  His 
kind  hand  had  led  us.  Precious  intercourse !  A  foretaste 
of  what  we  hope  to  enjoy  more  fully  hereafter.  When  we 
fled  from  Beyrout  thirty-four  years  ago,  this  little  church  of 
Christ  (was  it  not  a  little  one  ?)  was  scattered  to  the  four  winds, 
but  *  He  hath  remembered  His  holy  covenant,'  and  He  is 
still  a  God  to  His  people  and  to  their  seed  after  them. 

"At  Beyrout,  one  of  our  first  visits  was  to  the  Protestant 
cemetery,  a  retired  and  pleasant  spot,  which  I  myself  '  pur 
chased  of  the  sons  of  Ileth  for  a  possession  of  a  bury  ing- 
place,'  thirty-six  or  thirty-seven  years  ago.  Here  %e  stood 
by  the  graves  of  the  well-known  and  well-beloved  brethren 
Fisk  (who  died  at  my  house  in  Beyrout),  Smith,  and  Whiting, 


412         "  FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

whose  memories  are  as  fragrant  as  ever,  and  whose  works 
still  follow  them.  Here,  also,  is  the  last  earthly  resting-place 
of  Peter  Abbott,  Esq.,  for  many  years.  British  consul  at 
Beyrout,  who  did  so  much  for  our  protection  and  for  the 
salvation  of  an  infant  mission  from  the  rage  of  persecution, 
that  his  reputation,  like  that  of  the  elector  of  Saxony,  suf 
fered  in  consequence.  No  history  of  these  times  would  be 
complete  without  a  distinct  recognition  of  the  untiring  efforts 
he  made  to  shield  from  harm  the  infant  cause  of  Protes 
tantism  in  Turkey. 

"  The  changes  that  have  taken  place  in  Beyrout  are  great, 
and  those  that  have  taken  place  on  Mount  Lebanon  are  still 
greater.  The  pride  of  Lebanon  is  broken,  those  high  looks 
are  brought  low,  and  that  terrible  power  which  trampled 
upon  all  that  thirsted  for  God  or  desired  a  knowledge  of  His 
ways  is  itself  cast  down.  When  we  first  went  to  Beyrout, 
all  was  dark  as  darkness  itself,  and  not  a  ray  of  light  was  to 
be  seen  on  the  mountain.  All  was  dead  and  dry,  like  the 
bones  in  Ezekiel's  vision,  and  there  was  not  even  a  sign  of 
life.  Indeed,  the  crime  of  drawing  a  single  spiritual  breath 
had  really  the  death  penalty  annexed  to  it,  unless  foreign 
protection  could  in  some  way  be  secured.  But  now  how 
changed !  '  By  terrible  things  in  righteousness '  has  God 
answered  the  prayers  of  His  people,  and  avenged  the  blood 
of  His  servants.  Now  there  is  life  and  light  and  liberty. 
One  can  breathe  freely  without  borrowing  special  leave  to  do 
so.  Now  the  waking  up  of  men's  minds  to  eternal  things  no 
longer  awakens  painful  apprehension  of  sufferings  beyond 
endurance.  Then  every  thing  seemed  to  belong  to  the  king 
dom  of  Satan,  and  he  had  every  thing  his  own  way.  Now 
it  is  given  into  the  hands  of  Christ,  and  He  has  begun  to 
take  quiet  possession  of  the  whole. 

"  I  was  amazed  at  the  amount  of  influence  and  confidence 
possessed  by  the  missionaries.  I  well  remember  the  time 
when  they  had  less  influence  with  the  principalities  and  pow 
ers  of  Mount  Lebanon  than  the  very  humblest  of  the  down 
trodden  poor.  But  in  the  wonderful  overturnings  of  God's 
providence  '  they  ascended  up  to  heaven  in  a  cloud,  and  their 
enemies  beheld  them,'  and  the  influence  they  are  now  per 
mitted  to  exert  over  Lebanon  is  extraordinary.  Their  char 
acter  is  tfow  known  and  respected ;  and  their  names,  which 
were  once  odious  to  a  proverb,  are  now  held  in  honor.  In 
deed,  in  their  case,  that  promise  seems  to  be  fulfilled  which 


INVITED   TO   ENGLAND.  413 

was  spoken  of  Zion,  *  "Whereas  thou  hast  been  forsaken  and 
hated,  so  that  no  man  went  through  thee,  I  will  make  thee 
an  eternal  excellency,  a  joy  of  many  generations.' " 

After  his  return  to  Constantinople,  he  received  from  one 
of  the  girls  connected  with  the  Female  Boarding-school  at 
Aleppo,  where  the  annual  meeting  was  held,  a  letter,  together 
with  a  black  velvet  cap,  wrought  by  their  hands  and  encircled 
with  a  double  inscription  embroidered  in  Arabic.  This  cap 
he  continued  to  wear,  as  a  precious  memorial,  until  the  day 
of  his  death.  It  was  on  his  head  when  he  sat  in  the  meeting 
of  the  American  Board  at  Chicago,  and  in  all  the  public 
meetings  that  he  attended  in  this  country  after  his  final  re 
turn  :  — 

ALEPPO,  Sept.  6,  18G2. 

DR.  GOODELL,  SIR, —  I  have  the  pleasure  of  sending  you 
the  cap  which  the  girls  of  our  little  school  in  Aleppo  prom 
ised  to  make  you  when  you  were  here.  They  often  ask 
about  you,  and  all  send  many  salaams,  with  their  best  wishes 
that  your  life  may  be  spared  many  years  to  use  many  more 
caps,  and  still  to  do  much  service  in  the  Lord's  vineyard. 
The  texts  on  the  cap  are  (in  Arabic)  :  — 

"  The  hoary  head  is  a  crown  of  glory,  if  it  be  found  in  the 
way  of  righteousness"  (Prov.  xvi.  31). 

44  The  glory  of  young  men  is  their  strength,  and  the  beauty 
of  old  men  is  the  gray  head  "  (Prov.  xx.  2(J). 

All  our  little  circle  are  well,  and  send  many  regards,  in 
cluding  the  new  little  Miss  Wortabet. 
Yours  respectfully, 

SAADA  GREGORY. 

In  November,  1862,  Dr.  Goodell  received  an  urgent  in 
vitation  from  the  "  Turkish  Missions  Aid  Society  "  in  Lon 
don  to  visit  England.  This  society,  which  was  organized  in 
1854,  "  to  aid  the  existing  evangelical  missions  in  the  Turkish 
empire,  especially  American,"  within  those  eight  years  had 
appropriated  to  the  American  missions  in  different,  parts  of 
Turkey  about  $70,000.  It  was  an  outgrowth  of  the  warm 
interest  felt  in  England  in  the  work  of  the  faithful  men  who 


414          FORTY   YEARS   IN   TUE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

were  seeking  to  evangelize  the  races  of  Turkey.  It  was  two 
years  before,  in  1860,  that  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  on  tak 
ing  the  chair  as  president  of  the  society,  bore  such  honorable 
testimony  to  the  worth  and  wisdom  of  these  men,  in  saying, 
"  I  do  not  believe  that  in  the  whole  history  of  missions,  I  do 
not  believe  in  the  history  of  diplomacy,  or  in  the  history  of 
any  negotiations  carried  on  between  man  and  man,  we  can 
find  any  thing  equal  to  the  wisdom,  the  soundness,  and  the 
pure  evangelical  truth  of  the  body  of  men  who  constitute  this 
mission."  The  following  is  the  letter  of  invitation :  — 

7  ADAM  STREET,  LONDON,  Oct.  17,  1862. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  GOODELL  : 

MY  ESTEEMED  BROTHER,  —  I  am  instructed  by  our  com 
mittee  to  convey  to  you  their  affectionate  desire  for  a  visit 
from  yourself  this  year,  as  a  deputation  from  the  missions 
aided  by  their  operations. 

I  ventured  privately,  by  the  mediation  of  our  beloved 
brother,  Rev.  Dr.  Perkins,  to  sound  you  on  the  possibility  of 
our  obtaining  this  privilege.  He  was  to  have  told  you  from 
personal  experience  precisely  what  you  would  have  to  endure 
in  the  way  of  work,  and  he  encouraged  me  to  hope  he  might 
succeed  iii  securing  your  consent. 

Our  committee  will  be  delighted  to  welcome  you,  and 
although  our  associations  hold  their  meetings  during  the 
wintry  months  of  the  first  quarter  of  the  new  year,  the  facil 
ities  of  railroads  and  hospitable  houses  everywhere  mitigate 
the  inconveniences.  All  expenses  for  your  coming  and  going 
by  the  first-class  comforts  by  sea  and  land,  from  and  to  Tur 
key,  we  gladly  meet,  that  your  health  may  be  cherished,  and 
only  as  much  work  shall  be  devolved  upon  you  as  your 
strength  will  permit.  Our  winters  in  England  are  generally 
very  short  and  mild,  with  little  snow  or  frost  to  last  a  week. 
If  you  could  be  here  in  the  first  week  of  January,  that  would 
be  early  enough. 

Hoping  you  will  give  this  cordial  invitation  of  our  com 
mittee  your  serious  consideration,  and,  if  possible,  give  us  all 
the  pleasure  of  welcoming  you  to  Old  England, 
I  remain,  Rev.  and  dear  Brother, 
With  cordial  esteem, 

Very  fraternally  yours, 

G.  R.  BIRCH,  Secy.  T.  M.  A.  S. 


DR.  GOODELL'S  REPLY.  415 

Dr.  Goodell  would  gladly  have  complied  with  the  invita 
tion,  in  order  to  make  some  acknowledgment  of  the  impor 
tant  assistance  that  the  American  missionaries  had  received 
from  their  Christian  brethren  of  all  denominations  in  Eng 
land  ;  but  he  was  not  equal,  physically,  to  the  service,  and  he 
sent  to  the  secretary  the  following  letter,  giving  his  reasons 
for  declining:  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  Nov.  19,  1862. 

To  the  Rev.  G.  R.  BIRCH,  Secretary  of  the  T.  M.  A.  Society, 
London : 

REV.  AND  DEAR  SIR,  —  Yours  of  October  17  was  duly 
received,  and  with  great  gladness  of  heart  would  I  accept 
the  kind  invitation  of  your  committee  to  visit  England  and 
spend  part  of  the  coming  winter  in  the  service  of  your  society, 
did  I  dare  undertake  it.  It  is  more  than  fifty  years  since  I 
began  to  listen  with  admiration  to  your  Christian  orators ; 
and  the  names  of  Wilberforce  and  Grant,  of  Teignmouth 
and  Bexley,  of  Pinkerton,  Paterson,  and  a  host  of  others,  — 
the  venerable  presidents,  vice-presidents,  secretaries,  and 
earnest  advocates  of  your  benevolent  institutions,  —  were  as 
household  words.  And  as  I  read  their  glowing  statements 
and  fervent  appeals,  my  only  fear  was  that  they  would  usher 
in  the  millennium  before  I  should  be  ready  to  do  any  thing 
in  the  world,  and  that  I  should  be  left  with  nothing  to  do,  — 
a  fear,  however,  which  I  have  long  since  laid  aside.  I  always 
feel  proud  to  confess  that  I  have  pure  English  blood  flowing 
in  my  veins ;  and  though  **  The  Times  "  might  insinuate  that  it 
must  by  this  time  be  vitiated,  yet,  whether  somewhat  vitiated 
or  somewhat  improved,  there  it  is,  and  I  feel  it  every  day,  to 
the  very  ends  of  my  fingers. 

I  should  so  love  to  visit  that  wonderful  island,  and  see 
some  of  the  good  friends  of  whom  I  have  read  and  thought 
so  much,  or  whom  I  have  known  in  the  East.  I  should  love 
to  look  once  more  upon  the  noble  countenance  of  that  dis 
tinguished  statesman  of  yours,  whose  name  will  be  remem 
bered  with  honor  to  the  latest  generations  for  his  advocacy 
hi  Turkey  of  the  principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  a 
principle  to  be  recognized  not  only  in  Turkey,  but  in  all  the 
surrounding  countries.  But  I  am  not  fit  for  the  service  to 
which  you  invite  me.  I  have  neither  the  strength,  wisdom, 
nor  grace.  My  work,  too,  has  been  to  such  a  degree  in  my 


416          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

own  study,  that  I  know  comparatively  little  of  those  details 
of  which  you  would  wish  me  to  inform  you.  My  powers  of 
body  and  mind  are  failing,  and  my  bodily  presence  among 
you  would  be  weak  and  my  speech  contemptible.  Even  my 
voice  has  lost  all  its  former  edge,  and  I  no  longer  recognize 
it  as  my  own. 

I  therefore  wrote  to  my  son-in-law,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Barnum, 
of  Kharpoot,  whose  name  was  mentioned  in  connection  with 
mine  by  our  mutual  friend,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Perkins,  when  he 
first  informed  me  of  your  request.  I  hoped  he  would  be 
able  to  go,  but  he  cannot  leave  his  work.  I  have  therefore 
written  to  the  Rev.  II.  Morgan,  of  Autioch,  urging  him  to 
go.  He  will  be  able  to  tell  you,  straight  through,  from 
beginning  to  end,  of  the  whole  Zeitoon  affair,  and  will  give 
your  society  much  interesting  information  from  his  very  in 
teresting  field  of  labor.  I  hope  he  will  go.  And  may  the 
good  Lord  go  with  him,  and  give  him  all  the  grace  and  help 
he  may  need.  . 

Christian  salutations  to  your  committee  and  to  your  so 
ciety.  In  due  season  they  shall  reap  if  they  faint  not.  And 
if  I  never  have  a  personal  introduction  to  them  on  earth,  I 
hope  we  may  meet  on  the  other  side  of  Jordan,  in  the  green 
fields  of  Eden,  where  the  tree  of  life  doth  grow,  and  where 
no  "  New  York  Herald  "  or  "  London  Times  "  will  ever  dis 
turb  our  harmony  or  interrupt  the  flow  of  our  affectionate 
regards  for  each  other. 

Your  unworthy,  but  very  affectionate,  brother  in  Christ, 

W.   GOODELL. 


In  February,  1863,  his  labors  in  the  work  of  translating 
and  revising  the  Holy  Scriptures  came  to  a  close.  He  then 
completed  his  last  revision  of  the  entire  Bible  in  the  Armeno- 
Turkish  language,  which  he  had  prosecuted  with  as  much 
painstaking  and  prayerfulness  as  the  original  translation, 
whhh  he  finished  in  1841.  This  work  will  now  remain  a 
monument  to  his  accurate  scholarship,  his  sound  critical 
judgment,  his  life-long  perseverance,  and  his  scriptural  piety, 
and  will  hold  forth  the  lamp  of  divine  truth  in  the  Turkish 
Empire,  until  the  language  shall  cease  to  be  spoken.  As 
soon  as  this  work  was  completed,  he  penned  the  following 


TO    HIS    CHILDREN.  417 

letter  to  his  children,  copies  of  which  he  sent  to  them  in 
their  several  and  widely  separated  places  of  residence :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  Feb.  8,  1863. 

To  my  dear  children  and  grandchildren  in  Constantinople, 
Kharpoot,  and  America  :  — 

You  will,  I  am  sure,  rejoice,  and  will  unite  with  me  in 
thanksgiving  and  praise,  that  I  have  been  spared  so  long, 
and  have  been  permitted  to  finish  the  great  work  given  me 
to  do.  Though  I  am  now  old  and  feeble,  yet  my  eyesight 
has  been  wonderfully  preserved,  enabling  me  to  read  the  last 
proof  in  the  printing  of  the  Armeno-Turkish  Scriptures,  and 
to  make  my  last  corrections.  I  now  turn  my  back  upon  the 
beautiful  country  through  which  I  have  travelled,  and  again 
set  my  face  toward  the  wilderness,  hoping  the  good  Master 
will  see  fit  to  employ  me  in  some  way  to  promote  His  glory, 
though  hardly  expecting  it  to  be  so  pleasant  a  service  as  that 
in  which  I  have  been  so  long  engaged.  For  the  privilege  I 
enjoyed  in  having  that  pleasant  service  assigned  me,  in  such 
pleasant  fields,  amidst  such  living  fountains,  I  ought  to  be 
unfeignedly  thankful.  Every  truth  in  the  whole  Bible,  from 
Genesis  to  Revelation,  has  now  come  once  and  again  directly 
before  my  mind  and  received  my  earnest  attention.  Oh,  had 
I  been  sanctified  through  every  truth  I  have  translated,  as 
might  have  been  expected,  what  a  good  and  benevolent  man 
I  might  have  become  !  But,  alas  !  I  know  only  in  part,  and 
only  in  part  do  I  believe  and  love.  That  which  is  perfect  is 
not  yet  come.  And  will  it  never  come  ?  Yes,  I  hope  ;  not 
by  my  work  of  translation,  nor  by  any  other  work  of  mine, 
but  through  wonderful  mercy  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,  I 
have  hope  that  "  that  which  is  perfect "  will  surely  come. 

On  completing  my  work,  I  invited  to  dinner  my  principal 
helper  in  the  work  of  translation,  Baron  Harutun,  and  his 
principal  helper  in  the  work  of  printing,  Baron  Sarkis ;  and 
I  reminded  them  that  we  must  now  make  the  same  use  of 
the  truth  we  had  translated  and  printed  that  other  poor 
sinners  do,  otherwise  we  should  die  in  ignorance  of  the 
Gospel ;  that  we,  like  all  other  poor,  dark  sinners,  needed 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  enlighten  us,  and  to  take  of  the  things  of 
Christ  and  to  show  them  to  us ;  otherwise,  notwithstanding 
all  our  knowledge  of  the  Bible,  we  should  for  ever  remain 
ignorant  of  God's  great  salvation.  I  hope  you  will  pray 
that  all  who  have  had  any  thing  to  do  in  preparing  this 

18*  AA 


418          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE  TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

book,  all  who  hear  it,  or  read  it,  or  preach  from  it,  may  be 
sanctified  through  the  truth  it  contains.  And  will  you  pray 
especially  that  your  aged  father,  after  having  translated  those 
glorious  truths  for  others,  and  after  having  preached  them  to 
others,  may  not  "  himself  be  a  castaway." 

I  now  turn  from  my  work  of  translation  to  that  of  preach 
ing,  and  I  desire  your  prayers  that  I  may  so  preach  as  to 
save  both  myself  and  those  that  hear  me.  The  poor  rem 
nants  of  my  strength  and  of  my  days  I  consecrate  to  Him 
whom  I  have  tried  to  serve  these  many  years,  and  in  whose 
blessed  service  I  hope  to  be  employed  for  ever.  How  long 
I  shall  be  permitted  to  preach  or  to  do  any  other  service  on 
earth  seems  very  uncertain,  for  my  health  is  all  broken  and 
gone.  Formerly  my  sleep  was  sweet  and  refreshing,  and 
however  fatigued  I  became  by  night,  I  was  fully  restored  in 
the  morning.  But  now  I  often  spend  much  of  the  night  in 
utter  sleeplessness,  and  during  the  long  and  silent  hours  I 
repeat  to  myself  verses  of  the  many  beautiful  hymns  that  we 
have  sung  together,  and  this  one  often  among  others :  — 

"Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea, 
Save  that  thy  blood  was  shed  for  me, 
And  that  tliou  bid'st  me  come  to  thee, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come  !  " 

Yes,  I  come!  I  come!  Where  else  can  I  look,  where 
else  can  I  go  ? 

My  dear  children,  —  you  are  all,  without  one  exception, 
very  dear  to  me,  —  it  seems  but  a  few  days  since  you  sat  on 
niy  knee,  tying  up  my  hair  in  hard  knots,  and  in  all  sorts  of 
odd  ways,  to  the  back  of  my  chair,  for  your  amusement,  but 
to  the  great  annoyance  of  your  good  mamma.  I  am  now 
scarcely  fit  for  any  thing  else  than  to  sit  on  the  floor  with 
some  of  my  grandchildren  around  me,  to  tangle  and  tie  up 
my  hair  in  the  same  old-fashioned  way.  I  think  both  mamma 
and  I  should  live  longer  if  we  had  some  of  our  good  grand 
children  about  us  to  amuse  themselves  and  us.  She  loves 
you  and  prays  for  you.  And  so  does 

Your  very  affectionate  father, 

W.    GOODELL. 

At  the  same  time,  he  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Ameri 
can  Bible  Society,  under  whose  auspices  the  translation  was 
printed.  He  commenced  his  letter  in  his  characteristic  style, 


TESTIMONY   FROM   A   STRANGER.  419 

referring  to  his  personal  and  lamented  friend,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Brigham,  with  whom  his  correspondence  had  been  previ 
ously  carried  on :  — 

"  MY  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  Did  our  postal  arrangements  ad 
mit  of  it,  I  should  be  tempted  to  direct  this  letter  to  my  good 
brother,  the  late  Secretary,  now  in  heaven.  But  I  hope  it 
will  come  safely  to  your  own  hands,  for  that  great  and  good 
society  in  which  our  brother  took  so  lively  an  interest,  and 
for  the  prosperity  of  which  he  labored  for  so  many  years," 
&c. 

On  the  announcement  of  the  completion  of  this  life-work 
of  Dr.  Goodell,  the  compiler  of  these  Memoirs  received  from 
a  lady,  who  had  been  sojourning  in  one  of  the  islands  of  the 
sea,  the  following  letter :  — 

WILLOWBROOK,  March  14,  1863. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  read  with  peculiar  interest  (in  this 
week's  "  New  York  Observer")  the  account  of  the  completion 
of  the  Armeno-Turkish  Old  and  New  Testaments  by  Dr. 
Goodell.  The  history  of  the  labors  of  this  veteran  Christian 
soldier  takes  my  thoughts  back  to  the  impression  made  upon 
my  mind  several  years  since  by  the  casual  perusal  of  a  tract 
entitled  u  The  Missionary's  Father."  There  is  a  link  between 
the  prayers  of  the  devoted  Christian  father  and  the  achieve 
ments  of  his  no  less  devoted  son,  which  should  not  be  lost 
sight  of,  now  that,  through  his  instrumentality,  millions  are 
to  rejoice  in  the  possession  of  the  word  of  God  in  their  own 
tongue.  In  the  narrative  to  which  I  allude,  I  remember 
this  sentence :  "  Every  foot  of  his  farm,  if  not  ploughed  over, 
was  prayed  over."  Is  not  this  a  fulfilment  of  the  promise, 
"  He  that  goeth  forth  and  weepeth,  bearing  precious  seed, 
shall  doubtless  come  again  with  rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves 
with  him." 

1  can  never  forget  what  joy  the  words  of  the  venerated 
missionary  brought  to  the  closing  hours  of  a  young  man, 
dying  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land,  as  I  read  to  him  an  ex 
tract  from  a  sermon  preached  by  Dr.  Goodell  at  Constanti 
nople,  on  the  death  of  Mrs.  Dvvight.  The  trembling  believer 
was  venturing  timidly  down  into  the  valley  of  the  shadow 
of  death,  with  no  tender  mother  to  smooth  his  pillow,  no 
sister's  hand  to  minister  to  his  relief.  At  that  moment  his 


420    FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE.' 

eager  ear  caught  the  words  spoken  years  before  in  a  time  of 
great  trouble  in  a  distant  land  :  — 

"  '  And  if  I  go  and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  come 
again  and  receive  you  unto  myself,  that  where  I  am  there 
ye  may  be  also.'  Our  Saviour  does  not  leave  us  to  grope 
our  way  into  heaven  alone.  He  comes  himself  to  receive 
those  who  trust  in  Him." 

This  thought  entered  the  soul  of  the  dying  man.  He 
started  from  his  pillow,  and,  with  a  countenance  irradiated 
with  joy,  exclaimed,  "  How  beautiful !  How  beautiful ! " 
Jesus  was  revealed  to  him  as  the  "  rod  out  of  the  stem  of 
Jesse,"  to  comfort  him  in  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death. 

Blessings  on  the  memory  of  the  missionary's  father ! 
Truly  his  effectual  fervent  prayers  have  availed  much. 
What  numbers  will  have  reason  to  bless  God  for  the  labors 
of  his  eminent  son  ! 

Yours  very  sincerely. 

In  November,  1863,  our  national  Thanksgiving  was  cele 
brated  in  Constantinople,  according  to  recent  custom.  The 
occasion  was  always  one  of  great  interest,  the  families  of  the 
mission,  and  the  Americans  who  might  happen  to  be  in  Con 
stantinople,  uniting  most  heartily  in  its  observance,  and  usually 
having  some  social  exercises  after  those  of  a  more  strictly 
religious  character.  At  this  time  the  day  was  observed  in 
true  American  style  and  spirit.  Among  the  sentiments 
offered  was  one  deriving  its  significance  from  the  civil  war 
that  was  then  going  on  at  home :  "  The  Union  as  it  was  in 
tended  to  be,  and  as  it  shall  be,"  which  was  responded  to  by 
Mr.  Goddard,  American  consul.  "  The  Army  and  Navy  " 
called  up  the  Rev.  Mr.  Pettibone.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Hamlin 
proposed,  "  Our  missionary  boys  and  the  Federal  army,'* 
and  called  upon  Rev.  Dr.  Schauffler,  who  had  a  son  in  the 
army ;  and  he  responded  in  an  eloquent  and  patriotic  address. 
On  the  reading  of  the  toast,  "  The  Constantinople  Colony," 
Dr.  Goodell  was  called  on,  and  gave  the  following  historical 
reminiscences :  — 

"My  family  removed  to  this  place  in  June,  1831.  We 
had  then  three  children,  and  we  constituted  the  whole 


HISTORICAL   REMINISCENCES.  421 

American  colony  of  Constantinople.  In  a  few  weeks  oui 
number  was  increased  by  the  arrival  of  Constantine  Wash 
ington,  whose  baggage  and  the  most  of  whose  outfit  were,  a 
few  days  before,  consumed  in  that  dreadful  conflagration 
which  reduced  all  Pera  to  ashes.  We  received  him  as  best 
we  could,  and  he  lived  with  us  nine  years. 

"A  few  days  before  this  arrival  several  distinguished 
American  citizens  came  from  the  United  States,  among 
whom  was  the  Hon.  Mr.  Rhind,  who  had  been  previously 
sent  by  the  United  States  government  to  make  a  treaty  with 
the  Sublime  Porte,  and  he  was  now  come  to  exchange  ratifi 
cations.  The  treaty  itself  was  made  in  the  village  of  Bebek, 
in  a  little  kiosk  on  the  Bosphorus,  which  kiosk  has  since 
been  removed.  The  American  and  Turkish  commissioners 
met  here  night  after  night  in  the  time  of  Ramazan,  and 
completed  their  work  before  those  European  powers  who 
might  have  been  disposed  to  exert  unfavorable  influences 
had  any  knowledge  of  what  was  transpiring.  The  Rev. 
Messrs.  Smith  and  Dwight,  arriving  at  that  time  on  their 
way  to  Persia,  travelled  as  American  citizens,  by  special 
authorization  of  the  Porte,  they  being  the  first  of  our  coun 
trymen,  it  is  believed,  who  enjoyed  that  distinction.  This 
was  in  the  year  1828  or  1829. 

**  In  this  his  second  visit  to  Constantinople,  Mr.  Rhind 
was  accompanied  by  Mr.  Eckford,  a  celebrated  ship-builder 
of  New  York.  Dr.  De  Kay,  Mr.  Eckford's  son-in-law,  came 
as  physician,  and  Mr.  Rhodes  as  his  foreman.  Commodore 
De  Kay  was  in  their  company,  being  in  command  of  the 
frigate  which  Mr.  Eckford  had  built  in  New  York,  and 
which  he  now  sold  to  the  Ottoman  government.  Mr.  Eck 
ford  was  soon  employed  in  the  arsenal  to  build  a  Turkish 
fleet,  the  Porte  having  lost  the  whole  of  its  navy  at  the  fatal 
battle  of  Navarino.  He  undertook  the  work  with  his  char 
acteristic  energy,  and  after  his  death,  which  occurred  the 
following  year,  it  was  carried  on  by  Mr.  Rhodes,  until  the 
death  of  Sultan  Mabmoud. 

"  As  not  a  hotel  or  boarding-house  had  escaped  the  con 
flagration,  these  friends  came  to  us,  and  begged  us  to  take 
them  in ;  and  though  we  had  lost  all  our  furniture,  still,  as 
the  life  of  our  cook  had  been  almost  miraculously  preserved 
(he  had  been  covered  by  the  ruins  of  the  burning  house), 
we  opened  our  doors  to  them,  and  the  first  night  made  tea 
for  them  in  a  tenjere  (a  sauce-pan).  The  same  week  that 


422          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

Mr.  Rhind  and  his  party  arrived  came  also  Commodore 
Porter,  in  a  United  States  vessel,  being  accredited  to  the 
Sublime  Porte  as  minister  resident  from  the  government 
of  the  United  States.  He  was  uncle  to  our  present  secretary 
of  legation,  and  father  of  our  two  brave  naval  officers, 
^illiatn  and  David  Porter,  who  have  performed  such  deeds 
of  valor  during  the  present  war.  Commodore  Porter  was 
our  first  minister,  and  continued  in  office  here  until  his  death, 
a  period  of  eleven  or  twelve  years,  a  much  longer  time  than 
has  been  allowed  any  of  his  successors. 

"  One  of  the  first  duties  of  the  new  minister  was  to  convey 
to  the  Porte  the  presents  which  wore  always  given  on  such 
occasions.  One  fan,  I  recollect,  cost  $15,000,  and  other 
knick-knacks  were  in  proportion.  It  was  early  in  the  morn 
ing  of  the  5th  of  October  that  Commodore  Porter,  having 
these  presents  in  charge,  started  from  Buyuk-Dere,  in  a 
caique,  to  go  to  the  yali,  or  summer  residence  of  one  of  the 
Turkish  ministers.  A  heavy  black  cloud  hung  in  the  south 
west,  and  a  strange  rumbling  noise  was  heard,  like  distant 
thunder.  My  house  was  on  the  water.  I  stepped  to  the 
window,  and  was  struck  by  the  very  singular  appearance  of 
the  Bosphorus.  It  seemed  as  if  some  persons  were  throwing 
brick-bats  or  paving-stones  into  it.  Observing  the  same 
appearance  at  a  distance  from  the  shore,  I  concluded  for  a 
moment  it  must  be  large  fish  jumping  out  of  the  water,  but 
the  next  instant  I  was  undeceived,  as  a  terrific  storm  of  hail 
burst  over  us  with  a  fury  not  to  be  described.  *  Jehovah 
thundered  from  heaven,  and  the  Most  High  uttered  His  voice, 
hailstones  and  coals  of  fire.'  P^very  pane  of  every  window 
exposed  to  the  storm  was  smashed ;  every  tile  of  every  house 
was  broken  to  pieces,  and  the  rain  poured  down  in  torrents 
into  all  our  rooms.  Several  persons  received  severe  con 
tusions,  many  animals  were  killed,  and,  doubtless,  many  men 
would  have  shared  the  same  fate,  had  it  not  been  so  early  in 
the  morning. 

"  And  where  was  Commodore  Porter  all  this  while  ?  He 
and  his  suite  had  just  passed  Therapia  when  the  storm  burst 
upon  them.  The  boatmen,  paralyzed,  dropped  their  oars, 
and  the  Commodore  himself,  who  had  been  accustomed  all 
his  life  to  battle  and  blood,  trembled  like  an  aspen  leaf. 
He  described  the  scene  afterwards  as  the  most  terrific  he 
had  ever  witnessed. 

"  Such  was  the  commencement  of  this  little  colony,  and 


OUR   CIVIL   WAR.  423 

such  was  the  commencement  of  our  diplomatic  relations  to 
the  Sublime  Porte.  Our  diplomatic  corps  has  always  had 
the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  Ottoman  government  and 
of  the  several  foreign  legations,  having  always  maintained 
amicable  relations  with  them ;  and  the  various  gentlemen 
composing  it,  some  of  them  distinguished  for  their  scholarly 
attainments,  have  commanded  the  respect  of  this  little  colony 
for  their  personal  worth,  and  for  the  energy  with  which  they 
have  sustained  American  interests. 

u  This  colony  has  been  increased  from  time  to  time  both  by 
ordinary  generation  and  by  fresh  importations  from  home, 
of  native  born  and  also  of  naturalized  citizens.  It  has  also 
had  much  to  do  in  receiving  and  forwarding  fresh  importa 
tions  to  form  colonies  in  the  regions  beyond  us.  A  large 
number  of  those  whom  we  loved,  whose  memories  are  fra 
grant,  and  whose  very  names  are  precious  to  us,  have  gone 
to  that  better  land  where  it  is  one  eternal  day  of  thanksgiv 
ing.  Many  of  the  children  have  from  time  to  time  been 
sent  back  to  the  land  of  our  fathers,  and  have  been  an  honor 
to  the  institutions  where  they  have  been  educated.  Some  of 
them  have  been  deemed  worthy  of  promotion  in  the  Federal 
army.  Several  are  at  present  fighting  for  the  restoration  of 
the  Union.  May  we  have  occasion  next  year  for  a  day  of 
thanksgiving  over  a  restored  Union,  universal  freedom,  and 
a  solid  peace." 

These  allusions  to  the  civil  war  in  this  country  were  ex 
pressive  of  the  sentiments  that  animated  the  heart  of  every 
missionary  of  the  American  Board  at  Constantinople.  Al 
though  the  representative  of  our  national  government  at  the 
Sublime  Porte  was  constrained  by  his  sympathy  with  the 
Southern  cause  to  resign  his  position,  there  was  not  a  man 
among  all  those  who  had  gone  forth  to  represent  the  churches 
in  the  service  of  the  Board  who  wavered  for  a  moment  in 
his  attachment  to  the  Union,  or  who  did  not  heartily  sympa 
thize  with  the  national  cause  and  pray  for  its  success.  Sev 
eral  of  the  sons  of  the  missionaries  who  were  then  in  this 
country  enlisted  in  the  Union  army,  and  were  among  the 
bravest  defenders  of  the  flag.  Among  them  was  a  son  of 
Dr.  Goodell,  alluded  to  in  the  following  note,  which  the 


424  FORTY    TEARS   IN    THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

father  pinned  to  a  pair  of  socks  that  he  placed  in  a  box  pre 
pared  for  the  soldiers  of  the  Union  army  by  the  mission 
families  at  Constantinople  :  — 

"  Peace  to  thy  feet,  thou  wearer  of  these  socks !  They 
were  knit  by  an  old  lady  at  Constantinople,  the  city  of  the 
Sultan,  who  herself  had  a  brave  soldier  boy  in  the  Union 
army.  And  he  was  one  of  the  thousand  men  who  for  their 
bravery  had  the  honor  accorded  to  them  by  General  Banks 
of  marching  into  Port  Hudson  and  receiving  the  submission 
of  the  city. 

"  So  let  us  all  be  brave  to  fight  the  battles  of  the  cross, 
and  we  shall  come  off  conquerors,  and  '  more  than  conquerors, 
through  Him  that  loved  us,  and  gave  Himself  for  us.'  Thus 
prays  the  husband  of  the  lady  referred  to  above.  The  socks 
were  originally  intended  for  him,  but  on  the  forty-second 
anniversary  of  their  marriage,  November  19,  1864,  they 
were  taken  up  anew,  to  be  finished  for  some  soldier  boy. 
So  here  they  are." 


WORK    AMONG    TURKS. 


425 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


AS  early  as  1856,  the  year  in  which  the  celebrated  Hatti 
Humayoun  was  promulgated,  direct  efforts  toward  the 
evangelization  of  the  Mussulman  population  of  Turkey  were 
undertaken.  These  efforts  were,  of  necessity,  more  quietly 
made  than  in  the  case  of  the  other  nationalities.  The  Turk 
ish  government  was  still  jealous  over  its  Mohammedan  sub 
jects,  and  any  thing  like  the  noise  of  a  revolution,  even  of  a 
religious  revolution,  was  peculiarly  distasteful  to  the  ruling 
powers.  The  Turks  are  not  only  strongly  conservative,  but 
they  particularly  dislike  any  movement  that  is  demonstra 
tive.  As  Dr.  Goodell  wrote  at  one  time,  "  they  would  rather 
thousands  of  Turks  should  be  converted  than  that  any  noise 
should  be  made  about  it."  The  circulation  of  the  Bible 
among  the  Mussulmans  went  steadily  on,  and  Mohammedans 
dropped  in  occasionally  to  hear  the  Gospel  preached.  In 
October,  1859,  Dr.  Goodell  wrote :  — 

"Within  the  last  five  or  six  years,  several  hundred  copies 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures  every  year  have  been  sold  to  the 
Turks.  The  history  of  these  we  never  knew ;  but  we  now 
begin  to  find  among  the  Turks  those  who  really  seem  to  be 
Bible  Christians,  spiritually  minded,  who,  with  no  teacher 
but  the  Bible,  have  become  wise  unto  salvation.  How  many 
minds  are  thus  awakened,  and  how  many  hearts  are  thus 
affected,  it  is  impossible  at  present  to  say.  We  are  told  of 
thousands ;  but  if  they  be  counted  only  by  hundreds,  or  even 
scores,  it  is  still  a  great  work.  Facts  are  coming  to  our 
knowledge  every  day  that  fill  us  with  astonishment.  It 
really  seems  as  though  the  heavens  were  about  to  drop  down 
upon  us  abundantly.  A  nephew  of  one  of  the  pashas  here, 


426          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

who  lives  with  his  uncle,  and  who  was  educated  by  him  to 
be  one  of  the  four  great  Mollas  of  the  empire,  is  a  candidate 
for  Christian  baptism." 

More  than  twenty  Mussulmans  had  been  baptized  at  Con 
stantinople,  and  one  of  these,  Selim  Effendi,  who  had  taken 
as  his  Christian  name  Edward  Williams,  was  licensed  to 
preach  the  Gospel.  This  work  was  going  quietly  on,  the 
American  missionaries  all  pursuing  the  line  of  policy  which 
Dr.  Goodell  had  strenuously  advised  from  the  very  begin 
ning  of  his  work  at  the  Turkish  capital,  that  of  avoiding 
collision  with  and  opposition  from  the  authorities,  civil  or 
religious.  But  all  the  laborers  at  Constantinople  did  not 
exercise  the  same  prudence.  Two  missionaries  or  agents  of 
the  Church  Missionary  Society  of  England,  in  the  warmth  of 
their  zeal,  and  presuming  perhaps  on  the  influence  of  their 
government,  favored  a  bold  assault  upon  Mohammedanism. 
Great  excitement  among  the  fanatical  Turks  ensued,  and  it 
soon  became  evident  that  whatever  were  the  terms  of  the 
Hatti  Humayoun,  and  however  it  was  understood  by  others, 
the  Turkish  government  was  not  disposed  to  regard  it  as  an 
unqualified  permission  to  Mohammedans  to  change  their 
religion. 

After  this  state  of  things  had  continued  for  some  time,  the 
Turkish  officials,  in  the  month  of  July,  1864,  acting  under 
orders  from  the  Porte,  seized  eight  or  ten  Mohammedan 
converts,  and  thrust  them  into  prison.  The  prisoners  were 
kept  in  close  confinement,  and  were  not  allowed  to  have  any 
intercourse  with  their  friends.  The  whole  community, 
native  and  foreign,  was  roused.  The  foreign  residents, 
including  the  missionaries,  met  and  protested  against  the 
action  of  the  government.  Unhappily,  the  English  ambas 
sador  was  a  very  different  man  from  Lord  Stratford  de  Red- 
cliffe,  the  champion  of  religious  freedom  and  the  friend  of 
the  oppressed.  There  was  every  reason  to  believe  that  Sir 
Henry  Bulwer  had  been  cognizant  for  some  time-  of  the 


GREAT   EXCITEMENT.  427 

intended  action  of  the  Turkish  government,  and  that  he  had 
given  either  his  approbation  or  his  tacit  consent  to  the  meas 
ures  that  were  adopted. 

The  storm  continued  to  rage  at  the  capital ;  but  in  the 
mean  time  the  Mussulman  converts  in  prison,  and  when  sum 
moned  before  the  courts,  witnessed  a  good  confession,  in 
humility  and  yet  with  firmness  avowing  their  belief  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  the  true  prophet  of  God,  sent  to  be  the 
Saviour  of  the  world.  As  they  were  not  even  charged  with 
any  other  crime  than  that  of  being  Christians,  and  as  they 
exhibited  the  meekness  of  Christ,  together  with  great  bold 
ness  in  confessing  Him,  their  conduct  evidently  made  an 
impression  upon  the  Turkish  officers  and  people.  In  this 
state  of  things  Dr.  Goodell  wrote  to  his  friend,  the  former 
English  ambassador,  who  was  then  in  England.  He  was 
induced  to  address  him  for  several  reasons.  The  first  and 
chief  was,  the  hope  that  Lord  Stratford  might  in  some  way 
exert  an  influence  with  the  government  at  home  in  behalf 
of  the  persecuted,  and  for  the  cause  of  religious  liberty  in 
Turkey  ;  another,  to  remove  any  false  impressions  that  might 
have  been  made  upon  his  mind  by  the  extraordinary  course 
of  his  successor,  who  had  so  grossly  misrepresented  the  policy 
and  proceedings  of  the  American  missionaries.  Dr.  Goodell 
was  unwilling  that  one  whose  confidence  they  had  enjoyed 
so  fully  in  past  years  should  imagine  that  they  had  all  at 
once  lost  their  discretion. 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  Sept.  27,  1864. 

To  the  Right  Honorable  VISCOUNT  LORD  STRATFORD  DE 
RKDCLIFFE: 

On  account  of  my  age  and  infirmities,  I  should  not  now 
venture  upon  any  thing  so  public  as  writing  to  your  Lordship, 
were  not  the  case  exceedingly  urgent.  I  know  not  what 
your  Lordship  can  do  for  us,  nor,  indeed,  whether  you  can  do 
any  thing,  in  the  circumstances,  which  must  appear  so  deli 
cate.  But  we  shall,  at  any  rate,  secure  your  sympathy  and 
your  prayers.  England  has  now,  for  a  full  score  of  years, 
stood  up  in  the  view  of  all  the  mingled  populations  of  this 


428  FORTY    YEARS   IN  THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

country  as  having  more  sympathy  with  the  Bible  than  with 
the  Koran,  with  Protestantism  than  with  Islamism,  with 
truth  and  justice  than  with  falsehood  and  oppression,  and  far 
distant  be  the  day  when  she  shall  cease  to  occupy  that  high 
position.  Our  former  persecutors,  the  Armenians,  express 
great  astonishment  at  the  present  posture  of  affairs.  "  Is 
Sir  Stratford  Canning  no  longer  living  ? "  an  ecclesiastic 
recently  asked  ;  "  Is  his  life-work  all  thrown  away  ?  " 

The  "  Levant  Herald  "  accuses  us  of  now  doing  to  the  Mus 
sulmans  the  very  things  which  we  complained  of  them  for 
doing  to  the  native  converts,  before  the  establishment  of 
religious  liberty.  Does  the  London  "  Morning  Post "  under 
stand  what  it  says  ?  Does  it  know  any  thing  of  what  we 
then  complained,  and  for  which,  through  the  very  energetic, 
humane,  and  untiring  efforts  of  your  Lordship,  we  obtained 
redress  ?  It  was  not  that  our  religion  was  reviled,  and  our 
names  cast  out  as  evil.  All  this  we  bore  for  many  years, 
and  could  still  bear,  without  rendering  evil  for  evil,  or  asking 
for  the  interference  of  the  civil  power.  But  it  was  that  the 
converts  were  thrown  into  the  filthiest  dungeons,  or  banished 
to  the  most  distant  parts  of  the  empire.  It  was  that  they 
were  everywhere  cut  off  from  bread  and  water,  and  from  all 
employment,  their  houses  and  land  and  shops  and  their 
protective  papers  taken  from  them,  and  they  left  without 
any  permission  to  live  or  to  die.  Their  condition  was  truly 
deplorable. 

Now,  have  any  of  the  missionaries,  or  any  of  the  helpers, 
been  guilty  of  doing  any  thing  of  this  kind  to  the  Mussulman 
population  ?  If  so,  in  the  name  of  justice,  where  and  when  ? 
If  not,  then  is  the  whole  reasoning  of  the  "  Morning  Post " 
singularly  out  of  place.  In  fact,  it  is  altogether  irrelevant, 
and  has  no  pertinence  whatever.  And  is  there  no  friend  in 
England  to  point  out  the  great  error  into  which  the  "  Morning 
Post"  has  fallen,  and  the  great  injustice  it  has  done  us? 

It  should  be  known  in  England  that  of  all  the  persecuted 
Mussulman  converts,  some  of  whom  have  suffered  imprison 
ment,  and  some  been  sent  into  exile,  not  a  single  one,  so  far 
as  I  can  learn,  has  been  brought  to  trial,  or  had  a  single 
charge  proved,  or  attempted  to  be  proved,  against  him.  If 
any  individual  has  spoken  unadvisedly  against  the  Koran,  or 
railed  against  the  prophet  as  is  alleged,  let  it  be  proved,  that 
the  guilty  individual  may  be  suitably  punished.  But  let  not 
a  whole  community  be  punished  for  the  sake  of  one  or  two, 


LETTER   TO    LOUD    STRATFORD.  429 

when  it  has  not  been  proved  that  any  crime  has  been  com 
mitted  by  any  one.  In  the  name  of  the  Hatti  Humayoun  of 
Turkey  and  of  the  Magna  Charta  of  England,  every  right- 
minded  person  should  protest  against  such  an  outrage. 

In  all  the  communications  of  His  Excellency  Sir  Henry 
Bulwer,  and  in  various  articles  I  have  seen,  taken  from  the 
"  London  Times  "  and  the  "  Morning  Post,"  it  is  everywhere 
roundly  asserted,  or  taken  for  granted,  that  the  American 
missionaries  have  entirely  changed  their  policy.  Now  this 
is  entirely  false.  We  have  not  changed  our  policy  in  any 
respect,  nor  have  we  seen  it  done  by  others,  who  within  a 
few  years  have  come  to  labor  for  the  Mussulmans,  without 
earnest  entreaty  and  solemn  protest  on  our  part. 

We  therefore  deem  it  unfair  to  be  condemned  in  this 
wholesale  manner.  It  is  like  the  treatment  of  the  hunted 
Mussulman  converts,  altogether  unjust.  So  far  as  we,  per 
sonally,  are  concerned,  it  is  a  small  matter.  But  so  far  as 
these  persecuted  ones  are  concerned,  it  calls  for  prompt 
action  on  the  part  of  representatives  of  foreign  powers,  and 
especially  of  Protestant  England. 

So  II.  E.  Sir  Henry  Bulwer,  in  one  of  his  most  impor 
tant  communications  to  us,  which  was  intended  for  effect  in 
England,  and  was  published  there,  places  us  in  altogether  a 
false  position,  and  shows  us  in  a  most  unfavorable  light. 
Had  we  entertained  the  views  which  he  ascribes  to  us,  or 
rather  assumes  that  we  entertain,  his  reasonings  and  his  advice 
would  have  been  most  excellent ;  but  as  such  views  and  such 
conduct  are  as  abhorrent  to  our  own  minds  as  they  are  to 
his,  the  communication  does  us  great  injustice,  for  the  Eng 
lish  government  and  all  right-minded  Englishmen  must  feel 
that  we,  as  thus  represented,  are  most  unreasonable,  and  need 
to  be  held  in  with  bit  and  bridle. 

But  I  fear  I  am  taxing  your  Lordship's  time  and  patience  ; 
I  fear,  too,  I  may  not  have  touched  upon  those  points 
you  could  have  desired  me  to  speak.  I  hope,  however,  the 
few  scattered  things  I  have  said  may  serve  as  hints  to  enable 
you  the  better  to  understand  our  present  position. 

But  let  me  not  close  without  assuring  your  Lordship  that 
we  every  day  see  reason  to  bless  God  that  He  sent  you  to 
this  country,  and  used  you  as  an  important  instrument  of 
great  and  permanent  good  to  all  the  nationalities  of  Turkey. 
May  your  declining  years  be  years  of  great  peace  and  hap 
piness  !  May  your  own  heart  repose  confidence  and  liiid 


430          FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

comfort  in  those  everlasting  truths  which  now,  through  your 
instrumentality,  the  mingled  people  of  these  countries  are 
permitted  to  read  and  believe  and  enjoy. 

Mrs.  Goodell  unites  in  very  kind  regards  for  Lady  Red- 
cliffe.  And  may  I  ask  your  Lordship  to  inform  Miss  Can 
ning  that  I  retain  very  grateful  recollections  of  her  having 
once  piloted  me  with  perfect  safety  through  all  the  straits 
and  narrows  and  shoals  of  the  Prayer-book. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  yours  most  truly  and  faithfully, 

W.  GOODELL. 

The  reply  of  Lord  Stratford,  though  carefully  and  prop 
erly  guarded  with  reference  to  the  relations  of  the  govern 
ments,  and  especially  in  regard  to  the  British  representative 
at  Constantinople,  expressed  the  deep  interest  he  had  always 
felt  in  the  cause  in  which  the  American  missionaries  were 
engaged,  and  renewed  the  assurances  of  his  personal  friend 
ship  :  — 

UPLEATHAM,  Oct.  12,  1864. 

MY  DEAR  AND  REVEREND  SIR,  —  The  advantage  of  hear 
ing  from  you  was  very  acceptable  to  me,  notwithstanding 
the  painful  topics  to  which  your  letter  and  its  interesting 
enclosure  necessarily  referred.  You  have  always  held  a 
high  place  in  my  esteem,  and  latterly  in  my  affection  also. 
It  is,  therefore,  natural  that  I  should  derive  pleasure  from 
any  renewal,  even  at  this  distance,  of  our  former  more  fre 
quent  communications.  I  could  only  wish  that  it  were  in 
my  power  to  afford  you,  under  present  circumstances,  that 
support  which  you  received  from  me  in  other  times,  and 
which  you  and  your  fellow-laborers  deserve  so  well  at  my 
hands.  A  feeling  of  delicacy  prevented  my  going  up  to 
Earl  Russell  with  the  first  representations  on  the  subject  of 
the  late  vexatious  treatment  of  the  missionaries  and  their 
converts  by  the  Turkish  government.  But  I  wrote  to  his 
Lordship  in  proof  of  my  general  concurrence  with  the  depu 
tation,  which  could  not  have  been  introduced  to  him  by  an 
abler  or  more  suitable  advocate  than  the  Earl  of  Shaf  tesbury. 
I  have  since  had  occasion  to  confirm  my  previous  opinion  in 
a  letter  of  reply  to  Lord  Chichester,  who  had  written  to  me 
in  his  character  of  President  of  our  Evangelical  Alliance. 
Whatever  may  remain  to  be  done  is  open  to  consideration. 


IMPRUDENT   EFFORTS.  431 

My  absence  from  London  has  prevented  me  from  seeing 
the  missionaries  who  applied  for  an  interview ;  but  Mr. 
Schmettau  had  sent  me  some  printed  documents  connected 
witli  the  object  of  their  application,  and  I  have  directed  my 
eldest  daughter,  who  is  in  the  neighborhood  of  London,  to 
see  them,  if  she  can,  and  report  what  they  have  to  communi 
cate.  Judging  from  my  past  acquaintance  with  the  mission 
aries,  your  countrymen,  I  cannot  readily  believe  that  they 
have  suffered  their  zeal  to  carry  them  to  any  objectionable 
lengths,  and  I  presume  that  the  converts  from  Islamism  have 
imbibed  the  discretion  of  their  teachers,  and  would  not,  if  it 
were  only  for  personal  considerations,  do  any  thing  to  pro 
voke  the  Turkish  authorities,  or  to  merit  the  forfeiture  of 
that  liberty  of  conscience  which  was  distinctly  secured  to 
them  by  the  Imperial  Charter. 

I  know  not  under  what  suggestions  our  Foreign  Depart 
ment  may  have  to  take  its  course  with  respect  to  the  late 
transactions  in  Turkey,  but  I  shall  be  painfully  disappointed 
if  any  oflicial  lukewarmness  at  Constantinople  receives  any 
countenance  inconsistent  with  our  anterior  policy  and  the  in 
alienable  provisions  of  the  Ilatti  Ilumayoun. 

Should  any  thing  occur,  either  before  or  after  my  return 
to  London,  to  require  a  fresh  communication  with  you,  I 
would  not  scruple  to  trouble  you  with  another  letter. 

Meanwhile,  I  beg  you  will  accept  from  my  wife  and 
daughters,  as  well  as  from  myself,  the  joint  expression  of 
our  kindest  regards  and  best  wishes  for  your  health  and  hap 
piness. 

Believe  me,  ever  truly  and  cordially  yours, 

STUATFORD  DE  R. 

In  regard  to  the  actual  responsibility  for  the  disturbance 
which  arose,  and  especially  with  respect  to  the  charge  of 
publicly  reviling  the  prophet,  Dr.  Goodell  wrote  at  the  time 
to  one  of  his  brethren  in  Turkey :  — 

"  The  American  missionaries  have  not  changed  their  policy, 
but  it  ought  to  be  known  that  other  missionaries  have  come 
in,  who  from  the  first  have  pursued  a  very  different  policy. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Pfander,  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  a 
very  worthy  and  excellent  man,  came  and  opened  his  bat 
teries  against  Islamism.  We  earnestly  advised  him  not  to 
publish  those  books ;  we  entreated  him  not  to  do  it ;  we  sol- 


432          FORTY    YEARS   IN    THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

emnly  protested  against  his  doing  it.  But  this  good  brother 
having  what  the  great  Dr.  Edwards  attempted  to  prove 
nobody  can  have,  viz.,  a  self -deter  mining  power  of  the  will, 
went  on  and  did  it ;  and  the  effect  has  been  to  bring  all  our 
missionary  and  Bible  operations  into  great  danger,  —  the 
very  thing  of  which  we  had  repeatedly  warned  him. 

"Then  there  is  a  Mr.  O'Flaherty,  an  Irishman,  who,  from 
being  a  sergeant  in  the  Crimean  war,  felt  called  upon  at  the 
close  of  it  to  convert  all  the  Mussulmans  for  whom  he  had 
fought  so  bravely.  Some  good  people  in  England  furnished 
the  funds,  and  requested  us  to  direct  his  labors.  This  we 
soon  found  to  be  impracticable,  and  we  wrote,  saying  we 
could  no  longer  assume  any  responsibility  in  regard  to  him. 
He  was  then  shifted  over  to  some  English  or  Scotch  society, 
and  has  continued  his  responsible  or  irresponsible  labors  to 
the  present  time,  holding  lectures  or  meetings  up  and  down 
the  Bosphorus,  at  all  suitable  or  unsuitable  places,  talking 
long  and  loud,  on  steamboats  or  elsewhere,  with  any  one  who 
would  ask  or  answer  a  question  or  give  him  a  hearing,  and,  it 
may  be  (though  I  know  not  if  there  be  any  proof),  saying 
hard  things  against  the  Koran  and  the  prophet.  Perhaps  it 
will  appear  at  last  that  he  and  Dr.  Pfander  have  done  more 
good  than  any  of  us ;  but  even  this  will  be  no  evidence  that 
they  acted  with  Christian  prudence  and  discretion ;  for  the 
Lord  in  His  wisdom  and  great  mercy  sometimes  makes  use  of 
our  imprudences  and  our  indiscretions.  But  we  greatly  need 
here  at  the  present  time  for  British  ambassador  a  man  like 
Lord  Redcliffe,  whose  moral  worth  and  weight  of  character 
would  be  felt,  whose  sympathies  would  be  with  the  Bible  and 
not  with  the  Koran,  with  Christianity  and  not  with  Islamism, 
arid  who  would  represent  the  English  and  not  the  Turkish 
government." 

This  verdict  upon  the  principles  and  course  of  Sir  Henry 
Bulwer  was  fully  confirmed  in  his  speedy  recall.  He  was 
plainly  unfitted  to  represent  the  Christian  government  of  Eng 
land  at  such  a  court  as  that  of  the  Sublime  Porte.  Wholly 
without  sympathy  for  the  great  object  and  the  great  work  of 
the  Christian  missionaries,  he  was  also  so  ignorant  of  the 
facts  in  the  case,  and  of  religious  matters  in  general,  as  to 
assert,  and  insist  upon  it,  that  Dr.  Pfander  was  an  American, 
sent  out  by  the  American  Board;  and  when  the  English 


STORM    SUBSIDING.  483 

representative  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society 
assured  him  he  must  have  been  misinformed,  for  Dr.  Pfan- 
der  was  from  England,  and  was  in  the  service  of  the  English 
Church  Missionary  Society,  Sir  Henry  replied  that  he  him 
self  was  an  Englishman,  and  knew  what  there  was  in  Eng 
land,  and  he  had  never  heard  of  such  a  thing  as  the  Church 
Missionary  Society. 

This  storm  of  persecution  and  excitement,  though  violent 
for  a  time,  was  not  long  in  passing  over  and  its  occurrence 
was  the  means  of  defining  more  clearly  the  true  character  of 
the  religious  charter  which  the  Sultan  had  granted  to  his 
subjects,  and  of  making  them  more  secure  in  the  enjoyment 
of  the  privileges  which  had  been  guaranteed.  It  is  simply 
wonderful  that  this  Mohammedan  power,  which  by  the  creed 
of  Islam  is  pledged  to  intolerance,  if  not  to  persecution,  has 
given  so  many  and  such  strong  pledges,  binding  itself  to  carry 
out  the  principles  of  toleration  and  protection  toward  those 
of  other  religions. 

Dr.  Goodell's  native  politeness  and  true  dignity  of  heart 
were  never  more  apparent  than  when  he  had  occasion  to  ask 
pecuniary  aid  in  the  work  in  which  he  was  engaged.  This 
was  always  done  with  perfect  delicacy,  and  with  the  utmost 
regard  for  the  rights  of  others ;  and  yet  when  he  made  such 
an  application,  he  did  it  as  though  he  were  presenting  a 
draft  which  he  had  received  personally  from  the  Lord  Jesus, 
whose  is  "  the  earth  and  the  fulness  thereof."  One  scarcely 
can  tell  which  most  to  admire  in  the  following  correspond 
ence,  the  Christian  propriety  and  freedom  of  the  application, 
the  heartiness  with  which  the  generous  response  was  made, 
or  the  scriptural  simplicity  and  beauty  of  the  acknowledg 
ment  when  the  response  was  received :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  Oct.  4,  1864. 

To   the    Rev.    W.    ADAMS,    D.D.,    Madison    Square,  jXew 
York: 

REV.  AND   DEAR  BROTHER,  —  Mr.    Sarkis    Minasian,   a 
native  Armenian  of  Constantinople,  but  a  naturalized  Amer- 
19  BB 


434          FORTY   YEARS   IN    THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

ican  citizen  and  a  good  Christian  brother,  offers  to  lend  us 
five  hundred  pounds  for  two  years  without  interest,  on  con 
dition  that  we  use  it  in  completing  the  church  which  we 
commenced  building  several  years  ago,  but  had  to  stop  for 
want  of  funds.  P"ive  hundred  pounds  is  the  estimate  of  the 
architect,  and  he  has  this  day  commenced  the  work  under  the 
direction  of  Mr.  Minasian  and  ourselves. 

Now,  my  dear  brother,  there  are  three  things  we  shall  want 
of  your  good  people  :  — 

First,  A  Bell,  "  to  call  a  solemn  assembly  "  three  times 
every  Sabbath  day ;  not  a  large  one,  but  such  as  is  used  in 
your  factories  and  public  schools ;  not  too  sharp  or  shrill, 
but  a  good  one,  and  rather  deep-toned. 

Second,  A  Mdodeon,  to  help  "lift  up  a  sound  on  high" 
when  the  people  have  been  called  together  by  the  bell.  This 
should  be  about  the  size  of  those  in  your  lecture-rooms.  Our 
church  is  about  forty-four  by  twenty-seven  feet.  Let  it  be 
strongly  rather  than  elegantly  made,  and  let  the  bell  be  with 
out  the  possibility  of  a  crack,  for  we  have  no  good  President 
D  wight  here  to  recommend  "  a  carrot  poultice." 

And  then,  if  you  give  us  these  two,  we  want, 

Third,  Your  Prayers.  Without  the  two  former  your 
prayers  will  be  too  weak  to  have  any  perceptible  influence 
at  Constantinople ;  but,  with  those  two,  "  this  service  not 
only  will  supply  the  want  of  the  saints,"  but  be  "  abundant 
also  by  many  thanksgivings  unto  God." 

Consider  what  I  say,  and  the  Lord  give  thee  understanding 
in  all  things. 

Your  very  affectionate  brother  in  Christ, 

W.   GOODELL. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Adams,  on  receiving  this  letter,  read  it  to 
his  congregation,  and  a  collection,  which  was  in  keeping  with 
the  proverbial  liberality  of  the  people,  was  taken  on  the  spot. 
It  proved  more  than  sufficient  for  the  purchase  of  the  bell 
and  the  melodeon,  which  were  immediately  shipped,  with  all 
expenses  paid,  to  Constantinople.  The  following  letter  of 
acknowledgment  was  subsequently  received  and  read  by  Dr. 
Adams  to  his  people  :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  March  13,  1865. 

REV.  WILLIAM  ADAMS,  D.D.,  —  I  know  not  in  what 
Dictionary  to  lind  suitable  words  to  express  our  sense  of  the 


BELL   AND   ORGAN.  435 

obligation  we  feel  to  you  and  your  good  people  for  your  and 
their  prompt  attention  to  our  wants. 

The  bell  is  exactly  of  the  size  and  ring  which  I  described 
in  my  letter.  It  utters  its  voice  sufficiently  loud  and  clear  to 
arrest  the  attention  of  most  of  those  who  live  within  the 
limits  of  our  parish,  and  summon  them  to  the  worship  of  the 
great  God  in  the  house  of  prayer,  while  the  six-stop  cabinet 
organ  of  Mason  &  Hamlin  enables  us  to  discourse  sweet 
music  to  those  assembled  there. 

Had  your  church  been  organized  three  thousand  years 
ago,  and  had  they  been  as  thoughtful  of  King  David's  wants 
as  they  were  of  ours,  it  would  have  been  celebrated  in  the 
150th  Psalm.  And  when  he  called  upon  us  to  praise  God 
"  upon  the  loud  cymbals "  and  upon  "  the  high-sounding 
cymbals,"  he  would  have  added,  with  an  emphasis,  "  and 
also  upon  the  six-stop  cabinet  organ  of  Mason  &  Hamlin, 
furnished  by  the  munificence  of  Dr.  Adams's  church  in  New 
York." 

The  church  is  now  finished,  the  bell  hung,  and  the  organ 
in  position,  and  yesterday  the  whole  was  dedicated  with  ap 
propriate  services  to  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son,  and  God 
the  Holy  Ghost.  In  the  morning  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hamlin 
preached  in  Armenian.  He  was  assisted  in  the  services  by 
Pastor  Simon,  of  Pera,  who  you  will  rejoice  to  hear  is  again 
with  us,  and  like  one  of  us,  as  in  former  happy  times.  We 
hope  the  Lord  "  will  again  turn  our  captivity  as  the  streams 
of  the  south."  Indeed,  it  really  seems  as  if  He  had  already 
begun  to  do  so,  and  all  this,  we  are  quite  willing  to  believe, 
is  owing  to  the  increase  in  your  prayers  for  us ;  for  as  a 
general  thing,  as  I  wrote  you  before,  the  more  a  church  in 
creases  in  her  contributions  the  more  does  she  increase  in 
the  frequency,  fervency,  and  efficaciousness  of  her  prayers. 
And  this  improved  state  of  things  first  began  to  appear  just 
about  the  time  your  collection  was  made  to  furnish  us  with 
the  organ  and  the  bell. 

In  the  afternoon  of  yesterday  I  preached  in  Turkish,  and 
observed  several  Jews  and  also  Turks  in  the  congregation. 
The  house  was  densely  crowded  both  parts  of  the  day,  and 
as  one,  in  describing  the  aspect  of  the  assembly,  remarked, 
every  face  seemed  radiant  with  joy.  One  native  sister  said 
that  when  she  heard  the  sweet  music  and  still  sweeter  words 
she  could  hardly  contain  herself,  but  she  felt  that  she  must 
absolutely  break  out  into  an  exceedingly  loud  and  not  bitter, 


436          FORTY   TEARS   IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

but  joyful  cry.  Another  aged  member  of  the  church  said 
she  felt  like  saying,  with  the  aged  Simeon,  "  Lord,  now 
lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace."  It  only  remains 
that  we  pray  earnestly  that  the  place  may  be  filled  with  the 
glory  of  God,  and  that  the  Lord  may  "  count,  when  He  writ- 
eth  up  the  people,  that  this  and  that  man  were  born  there." 

We  do  not  forget  your  former  contribution  to  this  mission 
of  a  communion  service,  and  for  the  former  and  the  latter 
rain,  the  upper  and  the  nether  springs,  we  thank  you.  In 
the  name  of  our  whole  mission,  I  thank  you.  In  the  name 
of  this  poor  and  very  feeble  church,  I  thank  you.  In  the 
name,  the  precious  name,  of  Christ,  we  thank  you.  May  all 
that  pass  by  your  beautiful  heritage  be  constrained  to  lift  up 
their  hands  and  say,  "  The  blessing  of  the  Lord  be  upon  you. 
We  bless  you  in  the  name  of  the  Lord." 

"  The  churches  of  Asia  salute  you." 

Your  very  affectionate  brother  in  Christ, 

W.  GOODELL. 

To  an  invitation  to  attend  in  this  country  the  twenty-fifth 
anniversary  of  the  marriage  of  a  daughter  of  one  of  his 
former  instructors  at  Andover  Theological  Seminary,  he 
sent  the  following  reply :  — 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  May  17,  1864. 

MY  DEAR  AND  HAPPY  DAUGHTER,  —  Your  kind  invita- 
tion  to  be  present  at  your  "  silver  wedding,"  I  received  last 
week.  And  now  only  three  days  remain  for  us  to  attend  to 
our  passports,  secure  our  passage,  arrange  all  our  affairs,  and 
complete  all  our  arrangements  for  a  six  months'  absence 
from  our  work.  How  you  could  expect  that  I  especially, 
with  all  the  infirmities  of  age,  could  do  all  this  in  three  days, 
I  cannot  possibly  conceive.  In  the  other  world,  where,  I 
suppose,  as  quick  as  thought  we  can  find  ourselves  where  we 
wish  to  be,  such  a  thing  might  be  possible ;  although  even 
there  you  will  recollect  that  one  of  the  angels,  and  one  made 
to  %  swiftly,  was  a  full  half  day  in  getting  to  Daniel,  and 
that  another,  sent  to  him  with  most  important  despatches  and 
answers  to  prayers,  owing  to  difficulties  on  the  way,  was  full 
three  weeks  in  getting  to  him,  and  this  though  another  very 
mighty  angel  came  to  his  help.  Sure  you  must  have  sup 
posed  that  all  the  angels  in  heaven  would  be  at  our  service, 


SERMONS   IN   TURKISH.  437 

and  would  take  turns  in  carrying  us  on  their  wings,  to  ena 
ble  us  to  reach  in  good  time  your  silver  wedding. 

I  forwarded  without  delay  your  invitation  to  Dr.  Schauf- 
fler.  And  did  we  suppose  you  would  have  such  a  time  as 
John  Gilpin  had,  I  am  sure  he  would  almost  start  right  off, 
even  though  he  had  to  walk  on  the  sea  some  of  the  way,  and 
all  the  way  on  foot ;  for  he  has  recently  celebrated  his  own 
silver  wedding,  and  his  heart  is  full  of  the  brightest  and  hap 
piest  thoughts  on  the  subject. 

Oh  if  he  could  be  there,  what  a  time  you  would  have  ! 
But  you  can,  and  I  hope  will,  have  the  presence  of  One  whose 
thoughts  towards  you  are  precious  beyond  expression,  who 
can  turn  your  water  into  wine,  and  every  curse  into  a  bless 
ing,  and  make  every  bitter  thing  sweet. 

Your  father's,  your  husband's,  and  your  own  friend, 

WILLIAM  GOODELL. 


Conscious  that  his  work  of  .preaching  the  Gospel  with  his 
lips  was  drawing  near  its  close,  and  desiring  still  to  speak  in 
his  own  familiar  terms  to  those  for  whose  salvation  he  had 
spent  nearly  all  his  life,  Dr.  Goodell,  during  his  last  year  at 
Constantinople,  prepared  for  the  press  forty-eight  of  the 
sermons  in  Turkish  which  he  had  preached  to  the  people  ;  in 
order,  as  he  said,  "  that  they  may  the  more  readily  '  remem 
ber  the  words  that  I  spake  unto  them  while  I  was  yet  with 
them.' "  These  sermons  were  published  in  a  volume,  accom 
panied  by  a  farewell  letter  to  the  Protestant  churches  in  the 
Turkish  empire.  The  sermons  were  soon  scattered  abroad, 
and  being  written  not  only  in  the  language  but  in  the  idiom 
of  the  people,  they  were  read  and  heard  with  great  eagerness. 
A  portion  of  them  were  translated  into  the  Bulgarian  lan 
guage,  and  were  read  over  and  over  again  by  the  Bulgarians 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  empire.  They  were  afterward 
translated  into  Armenian  by  the  wife  of  the  native  pastor  at 
Kharpoot,  in  Eastern  Turkey,  and  by  the  liberality  of  a  few 
Christian  friends  in  this  country  the  volume  was  stereotyped, 
published  by  the  American  Tract  Society,  and  one  edition 
after  another  speedily  exhausted.  They  are  still  preaching 


438          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

the  Gospel  of  Christ  hi  different  languages,  hi  various  parts 
of  Turkey. 

The  following  is  the  letter  to  the  evangelical  churches  in 
Turkey.  Even  in  its  English  dress  it  will  be  read  with  an 
interest  akin  to  that  excited  by  the  last  words  of  Paul  the 
aged  to  the  elders  of  the  church  of  Ephesus,  as  he  met  them 
at  Miletus,  on  his  last  journey  to  Jerusalem :  — 

To  THE  EVANGELICAL  CHURCHES  IN  TURKEY. 

DEAR  BRETHREN  AND  SISTERS  IN  THE  LORD,  —  It  is 
more  than  forty  years  since  I  left  my  native  country  and 
came  to  Turkey,  and  about  one-third  of  a  century  since  I 
made  Constantinople  my  home.  I  am  now  old,  and  I  know 
not  the  day  of  my  death.  I  am  also  feeble,  and  cannot  rea 
sonably  expect  to  continue  long.  All  my  powers  of  body 
and  mind  are  failing,  and  I  am  going  to  the  house  appointed 
for  all  living.  For  all  your  kindness  to  me  and  mine  since 
the  first  day  I  came  among  you,  you  have  my  sincere  thanks. 
And  you  have  also  my  fervent  prayers  for  your  temporal 
and  eternal  well-being. 

In  your  hands  I  leave  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  which,  with  the  important  help  of  some  of  you,  I 
translated  into  Armeno-Turkish  for  the  benefit  of  those  of  you 
who  use  only  or  chiefly  that  language.  With  these  Script 
ures  you  have  also  a  Commentary  on  the  Gospel  of  Matthew, 
which  also  with  your  aid  I  prepared  for  you  in  the  same 
language.  And  I  am  now  putting  into  the  hands  of  the 
printer  more  than  forty  of  the  sermons  which  some  of  you 
may  recollect  to  have  heard  me  preach  to  you,  in  order  that 
you  may  better  "  remember  the  words  I  spake  unto  you 
while  I  was  yet  with  you."  And  whether  these  words  be 
"  the  words  of  truth  and  soberness " ;  whether  they  be  in 
strict  conformity  to  God's  holy  word,  —  you  must  search 
and  see  for  yourselves.  Blessed  be  God !  you  now  have  the 
whole  Bible  in  your  native  language,  and  you  need  not,  and 
must  not,  remain  ignorant  of  its  holy  doctrines  and  sublime 
teachings. 

When  we  first  came  among  you,  you  were  not  a  distinct 
people,  nor  did  we  expect  you  ever  would  be  ;  for  we  had  no 
sectarian  object  in  view,  it  being  no  part  of  our  plan  to  med 
dle  with  ecclesiastical  affairs.  Our  sole  desire  was  to  preach 


FAREWELL   LETTER   TO   THE   CHURCHES.  439 

Christ  and  Him  crucified.  Our  object  was  precisely  the 
same  as  that  of  the  missionaries  to  that  ancient  church  in 
Persia.  The  labors  of  those  missionaries  have  produced  no 
separation  in  that  church ;  but  they  have  been  permitted  to 
labor  side  by  side  with  the  bishops  and  priests,  to  preach  in 
their  houses  of  worship,  to  assist  in  supporting  and  superin 
tending  their  schools,  and  to  do  much  in  every  way  to  en 
lighten  and  elevate  that  whole  community. 

But  if  instead  of  giving  the  missionaries  a  cordial  welcome 
among  them,  they  had  anathematized  and  persecuted  to  the 
death  all  those  who  loved  the  truth  and  wished  to  live  a 
godly,  conscientious  life,  the  consequence  would  have  been, 
that  those  persecuted  suffering  ones  would  have  been  forced 
to  appeal  to  the  civil  powers  for  protection,  as  you  had  to  do 
here.  And  the  civil  power  there  might  have  found  it  neces 
sary,  in  order  to  afford  this  protection  in  conformity  with 
ancient  usage,  to  separate  those  persons  from  their  former 
connection,  and  acknowledge  them  as  a  distinct  community, 
entitled  to  all  the  protection  and  privileges  of  any  other 
community  in  the  empire.  This  you  know  was  the  case  here. 
The  Sublime  Porte,  to  save  you  from  perishing,  was  com 
pelled  to  separate  you  from  the  old  Armenian  community. 
This  is  your  present  condition  ;  and  this  condition  you  should 
"  accept  with  all  thankfulness,"  and  use  it  for  your  own  and 
your  children's  good. 

And,  my  brethren,  if  you  do  not  now  remain,  or  speedily 
become,  a  holy,  happy,  united  people,  securing  the  confidence 
and  commanding  the  respect  of  all  around  you,  you  have 
none  to  blame  but  yourselves  ;  for  in  being  good  and  doing 
good,  no  people  on  earth  ever  enjoyed  a  higher  freedom  than 
has  been  bestowed  upon  you. 

Among  my  last  words  of  adieu  to  you,  let  me  exhort  you 
to  bear  with  one  another's  infirmities,  "  forgiving  one  another, 
even  as  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  hath  forgiven  you."  Be  hon 
est  in  your  dealings  both  with  the  world  and  with  one  another, 
always  keeping  your  accounts  written  in  a  fair  hand ;  and 
this  even  in  all  business  transactions  with  your  own  relatives 
and  Christian  brethren ;  for  memory  is  imperfect,  and  im 
pressions  are  not  always  to  be  trusted.  In  this  imperfect 
world,  the  only  safe  way  is  to  keep  a  book-account  of  all 
pecuniary  transactions. 

Train  up  your  children  in  the  way  they  should  go.  Re 
member  that  they  have  souls  as  well  as  bodies,  and  if  it  be 


440          FORTY   YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

your  duty  to  provide  food  and  raiment  for  their  bodies,  so  is 
it  your  duty  to  provide  instruction  for  their  immortal  minds. 
See  that  they  have  suitable  teachers  and  suitable  books. 
Teach  them  also  yourselves,  especially  on  the  Lord's  day, 
and  bring  them  with  you  to  the  sanctuary,  that  they  may 
assist  in  singing  the  high  praises  of  our  God,  and  that  they 
may  receive  the  blessing  of  the  God  of  Jacob. 

Labor  to  support,  as  soon  as  possible,  your  own  civil,  edu 
cational,  and  religious  institutions ;  and  be  always  ready  to 
assist  those  more  needy  than  yourselves. 

Be  kind  to  the  poor  and  to  the  sick,  and  visit  the  families 
of  affliction,  of  want,  and  of  sorrow.  In  all  these  respects, 
be  Jesus  Christ's  men  and  women ;  that  is,  do  as  you  think 
He  would  do  if  He  were  among  you.  Hasten  to  the  relief 
of  those  who  are  in  distress.  Have  little  prayer-meetings  in 
the  neighborhood  of  those  who  are  unable  to  attend  public 
worship.  Have  little  meetings  also  for  the  young,  and  for 
those  who  are  beginning  to  seek  after  God,  and  to  desire  a 
knowledge  of  His  ways. 

If  the  Lord  bless  you  with  a  pastor,  honor  him,  love  him, 
and  pray  for  him.  Do  all  you  can  to  assist  him,  and  to 
strengthen  his  hands  and  encourage  his  heart  in  his  labors 
for  your  good.  The  relation  of  a  missionary  to  you  is  not 
intended  to  be  permanent,  and  it  should  not  be  continued 
longer  than  is  absolutely  necessary.  While  it  continues  it 
calls  for  mutual  candor,  forbearance,  and  kindness ;  but  it 
should,  as  soon  as  circumstances  will  permit,  be  superseded 
by  the  pastoral  office.  This  should  be  a  permanent  rela 
tion  ;  labor  to  make  it  so.  And  besides  providing  what  is 
suitable  for  the  support  of  your  pastor,  if  you  now  and  then 
make  him  a  small  present,  as  a  token  of  your  love  and  of 
your  appreciation  of  his  services,  though  by  reason  of  your 
poverty  it  be  no  more  than  a  choice  apple  or  orange,  it  will 
awaken  anew  his  interest  in  you  and  his  prayers  for  you. 

When  a  stranger  enters  your  place  of  worship,  direct  him 
at  once  to  a  suitable  seat,  or  give  up  your  own  to  him.  It 
might  be  well  to  make  it  the  duty  of  the  door-keeper  to  be 
on  the  alert  to  seat  all  strangers.  This  is  comparatively  a 
small  matter,  but  Christian  courtesy,  and  even  common  polite 
ness,  requires  attention  to  it.  Should  such  a  stranger  come 
a  second  or  third  time,  take  it  for  granted  that  he  desires  to 
find  the  way  of  life,  and  lose  no  time  in  seeking  an  acquaint 
ance  with  him ;  not  for  the  sake  of  holding  up  to  ridicule  his 


LAST   EXHORTATIONS.  441 

former  belief,  or  the  ceremonies  and  errors  of  his  church, 
but  for  the  sake  of  leading  him  to  the  Scriptures  of  truth, 
the  fountain  of  living  waters.  Twenty-five  or  thirty  years 
ago,  such  a  stranger  could  hardly  appear  in  sight  without 
being  at  once  hailed  and  introduced  to  the  whole  brother 
hood,  receiving  from  you  all  exhortations  without  stint,  and 
being  followed  also  with  your  fervent  prayers.  Let  not  your 
former  zeal  degenerate  into  cold  indifference. 

But  I  must  conclude.  And  now,  "  my  brethren,  dearly 
beloved  and  longed  for,  my  joy  and  crown,  so  stand  fast  in 
the  Lord,  my  dearly  beloved"  (Phil.  iv.  1).  "If  there  be 
therefore  any  consolation  in  Christ,  if  any  comfort  of  love, 
if  any  fellowship  of  the  Spirit,  if  any  bowels  and  mercies, 
fulfil  ye  my  joy,  that  ye  be  like-minded,  having  the  same 
love,  being  of  one  accord,  of  one  mind.  Let  nothing  be  done 
through  strife  or  vainglory,  but  in  lowliness  of  mind  let 
each  esteem  other  better  than  themselves  "  (Phil.  ii.  1-3). 
And  now,  how  can  I  better  take  my  leave  of  you,  and  ex 
press  to  you  my  very  last  words,  and  the  very  best  wishes 
of  my  heart,  than  in  the  language  of  Paul  in  2  Cor.  xiii.  11 : 
"  Finally,  brethren,  farewell.  Be  perfect,  be  of  good  comfort, 
be  of  one  mind,  live  in  peace ;  and  the  God  of  love  and  peace 
shall  be  with  you."  Amen. 

Your  very  affectionate  brother  in  Christ, 

W.    GOODELL. 


19* 


442          FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE  time  at  length  came  when,  in  consequence  of  ad 
vancing  years  and  increasing  infirmity,  it  ¥,  as  neces 
sary  that  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Goodell  should  make  som3  change. 
They  were  no  longer  able  to  bear  the  responsibilities  of 
housekeeping  in  that  distant 'land,  and  it  was  evident  that 
their  earthly  labors  were  drawing  near  an  end.  It  was  sug 
gested  that  their  son  and  daughter,  the  Rev.  Herman  N. 
Barnum  and  his  wife,  should  remove  to  Constantinople,  from 
their  field  of  labor  at  Kharpoot,  in  Eastern  Turkey,  to  be 
with  them  in  their  declining  years.  But  this  was  deemed 
undesirable,  on  account  of  the  great  importance  of  the  Eastern 
field,  in  which  Mr.  Barnum  had  been  eminently  successful ; 
and  the  venerable  couple  decided  to  return  to  America,  and 
spend  their  last  days  with  their  children,  who  were  anxious 
to  welcome  them  to  their  homes.  This  decision  Dr.  Goodell 
communicated  to  the  Board  in  a  letter,  dated  Constantinople, 
March  2,  1865,  in  which  he  said :  — 

"  It  would  be  our  desire  to  live  and  die,  and  be  buried, 
among  the  people  for  whose  good  we  have  spent  the  strength 
of  our  life  and  the  vigor  of  our  days ;  but  this  cannot  be.  It 
is  a  sad  conclusion  to  which  we  have  come,  but,  after  much 
thought  and  consultation,  we  are  unable  to  come  to  any  other, 
When  we  left  America  the  first  time,  in  1822, 1  do  not  recol 
lect  that  either  of  us  shed  a  tear.  We  sailed  from  New 
York,  having  already  taken  leave  of  our  friends  in  New 
England.  When  we  sailed  the  second  time,  in  1853,  and 
left  five  children  standing  on  the  wharf  in  Boston,  not  one 
of  whom  had  yet  found  a  home,  we  sat  down  and  wept.  But 


RETURNING   TO    AMERICA.  443 

at  the  very  thought  of  leaving  our  work  in  Constantinople, 
together  with  our  beloved  associates,  and  all  the  dear  objects 
of  our  prayers  and  labors  in  the  East,  our  head  seems  ready 
at  once  to  become  waters,  and  our  eyes  a  fountain  of  tears. 
Of  all  our  separations,  this  seems  the  hardest  to  bear.  Forty- 
three  years  ago  we  had  youth  and  courage,  being  strong  and 
hopeful.  Now,  youth  and  strength  and  energy  are  gone. 
Then  we  had  much  confidence  in  ourselves ;  but  we  would 
still  confidently  put  our  hand  in  His,  and  go  confidently  and 
cheerfully  wherever  He  may  lead  us,  whether  it  be  from  the 
eastern  to  the  western  continent,  or  from  this  world  to  the 
other. 

"  When  we  left  America  the  first  time,  it  was  to  go  to 
Jerusalem.  That  was  our  destination ;  but  we  have  never 
been  there.  Now  we  set  our  faces  toward  the  New  Jeru 
salem,  and  I  hope  we  shall  not  fail  of  arriving  there.  It  is 
not  so  much  America  as  it  is  heaven  to  which  we  would 
now  direct  our  eyes  and  thoughts.  For  though  life  itself 
may  yet  be  spared  for  several  years,  our  life-work  must  be 
nearly  or  quite  done,  and  we  feel  that  l  we  are  going  home, 
to  die  no  more.'  We  have  the  prospect  of  finding  among 
our  beloved  children  a  suitable  room,  where  we  can  breathe 
our  last  prayers,  and  we  hope  to  find  a  corner  in  some  ceme 
tery,  where  we  can  rest  in  quietness  till  the  bright  morning 
of  the  resurrection. 

"  The  work  of  missions  appears  to  me  more  and  more  ex 
cellent  and  glorious,  as  I  begin  to  feel  that  my  connection 
with  it  is  drawing  to  a  close.  I  bless  God  for  the  great 
privilege  of  being  connected  with  it  for  so  long  a  time.  My 
imworthiness  appears  exceedingly  great,  and  I  wonder  at 
the  divine  patience  and  forbearance  towards  me.  To  the 
Prudential  Committee,  and  to  all  the  members  of  the  Board, 
to  the  secretaries  and  treasurers,  and  especially  to  you,  my 
dear  brother,  do  I  feel  under  great  obligations  for  all  your 
and  their  kindness.  '  I  die,  but  God  will  surely  visit  you  ; ' 
and  you  shall  riot  labor  in  vain.  He  will  raise  up  other  and 
better  instruments,  and  will  surely  perform  the  oath  He  sware 
to  His  Son.  All  the  land  promised  shall  assuredly  be  His  for 
an  everlasting  possession.  And  blessed  be  all  those  who  are 
in  sympathy  with  Him.  I  regret  no  sacrifice  I  may  at  any 
time  have  made  for  Him.  Sacrifice  for  His  dear  sake  is  no 
sacrifice.  No :  it  is  honor,  it  is  happiness,  it  is  privilege,  high 
and  sacred." 


444          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

If  the  parting  was  sad  to  them,  it  was  not  less  so  to  the 
large  circle  of  American  and  English  friends  at  Constanti 
nople,  to  whom  they  were  bound  by  the  strongest  ties  of 
Christian  love  and  personal  friendship.  With  some  of  the 
families  they  had  been  associated  on  terms  of  great  intimacy 
and  mutual  confidence  and  love,  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century.  To  them  all  Dr.  Goodell  was  like  a  father,  ten 
derly  beloved,  and  held  in  the  highest  respect. 

In  anticipation  of  their  departure,  a  large  number  of  the 
foreign  residents  at  the  Turkish  capital  made  arrangements 
for  an  expression  of  their  regrets,  and  of  their  respect  and 
attachment.  They  assembled  for  this  purpose  on  Thursday, 
June  8,  1865,  at  the  Hotel  d'Angleterre,  where  they  had 
invited  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Goodell  to  meet  them.  The  "  Levant 
Herald  "  had  the  following  account  of  the  proceedings :  — 

"  It  had  been  known  for  several  weeks  that  the  Rev.  William 
Goodell,  D.D.,  of  the  American  Mission  to  the  Armenians,  was 
about  to  retire  from  the  scene  of  his  labors,  and  return  with  his 
family  to  America.  Dr.  Goodell  is  in  his  seventy-fourth  year, 
and  has  spent  forty-three  years  in  active  missionary  labor  in 
the  East,  during  thirty- four  of  which  he  has  resided  in  this  city. 
In  these  circumstances  it  need  be  no  wonder  that  his  long  resi 
dence  among  us,  his  public  position,  his  professional  labors, 
and  his  inestimable  personal  virtues,  should  have  endeared  him 
to  all  who  have  resided  here  any  considerable  time,  and  made 
them  contemplate  his  withdrawal  almost  as  a  personal  bereave 
ment.  It  needed  but  a  simple  suggestion  to  secure  the  expres 
sion  of  these  feelings  in  an  address  to  their  venerable  friend, 
accompanied  by  the  gift  of  a  timepiece  as  a  memorial  of  esteem 
from  the  older  British  residents  here.  The  presentation  took 
place  in  the  presence  of  a  numerous  assemblage  of  British  and 
American  residents.  Charles  S.  Hanson  was  called  to  the  chair, 
and,  observing  that  the  meeting  was  held  for  the  purpose  of  tak 
ing  leave  of  their  venerable  friend,  requested  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Schauffler  to  open  the  proceedings  with  prayer.  He  then  called 
upon  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomson,  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society,  to  read  the  address  which  had  been  prepared,  and  of 
which  the  following  is  a  transcript :  — 


ADDRESS   TO   DR.   GOODELL.  445 

"  '  CONSTANTINOPLE,  June  8, 1865. 

11 '  DEAR  DR.  GOODELL,  —  We  have  asked  you  to  meet  us  on 
this  occasion,  that  we  may  express  to  you  publicly  those  senti 
ments  of  esteem  and  regard  which  we  all  entertain  for  you  per 
sonally,  and  that  respect  and  admiration  with  which  we  look 
back  upon  your  long  and  unblemished  career  of  Christian  use 
fulness  in  this  city,  —  sentiments  which  we  feel  all  the  more 
deeply  in  the  near  prospect  of  your  withdrawal  from  among  us. 

"  '  Several  of  our  number  can  remember  that  when  you  first 
arrived  here  in  1831,  there  was  no  chaplain  to  minister  to  the 
British  residents,  and  consequently  none  to  address  to  them  in 
their  own  language  the  word  of  life,  to  dispense  to  them  the 
sacraments,  or  to  pour  the  consolations  of  the  Gospel  into  the 
sorrowing  heart.  Your  disinterested  and  laborious  services  at 
that  period  are  still  gratefully  remembered  by  many  of  your 
friends,  and  they  doubt  not  that  a  more  enduring  record  of 
them  is  preserved  on  high.  As  members  of  other  churches  and 
of  a  different  nationality,  though  one  intimately  connected  with 
your  own,  we  have  long  highly  appreciated  that  catholic  Chris 
tian  love  with  which  you  have  ever  welcomed  good  men  of  every 
denomination,  winning  their  confidence  by  your  cheerful  cordi 
ality  of  manner,  while  your  whole  character  and  deportment, 
chastened  by  wisdom,  and  pervaded  by  Christian  principle,  never 
failed  to  instruct  and  encourage  all  who  had  the  privilege  of  your 
acquaintance.  Nor  can  we  omit  to  refer  to  the  edification  and 
enjoyment  with  which  we  have  often  listened  to  your  lucid,  faith 
ful,  and  impressive  expositions  of  divine  truth,  while  we  pray 
that  we  may  more  than  ever  be  guided  by  that  faith  and  hope 
in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  it  has  always  been  your  happi 
ness  to  proclaim. 

"  '  But  though  it  has  been  chiefly  as  a  minister  of  Christ,  preach 
ing  among  us  in  the  English  language  as  opportunity  occurred, 
that  we  have  come  in  contact  with  you,  we  are  well  aware  that, 
after  all,  such  services  formed  but  a  very  small  portion  of  your 
public  labors.  We  well  know  that  your  most  vigorous  years 
and  your  most  devoted  efforts  were  consecrated  to  the  high  en 
terprise  of  presenting  to  the  Armenian  people  a  translation  of 
the  whole  word  of  God  in  a  language  known  to  almost  all  of 
them,  and  to  very  many  of  them  the  best  if  not  the  only  pieans 
of  access  to  their  intellect  and  feelings.  The  divine  Head  of  the 
church  has  permitted  you  not  only  to  finish  this  great  work,  but 
to  republish  in  a  revised  edition  the  whole  Armeno-Turkish 
Bible  once,  and  the  New  Testament  in  the  same  form  several 
times ;  and,  more  cheering  still  to  the  Christian  missionary,  He 
has  given  you  to  see  not  a  few  instances  in  which  your  labors 
have  been  blessed  by  the  Spirit  to  the  conversion  and  edification 
of  your  fellow-men.  By  these  labors,  as  well  as  by  your  Com 
mentary  and  your  published  Sermons,  you  have  left  an  inesti- 


446          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

mable  legacy  of  divine  truth  to  the  Armenian  nation,  in  whose 
grateful  remembrance  we  doubt  not  your  name  will  long  be 
honored  as  pre-eminent  among  the  noble  band  of  American 
missionaries  in  this  country. 

"  '  It  would  be  out  of  place  to  advert  to  every  thing  that  occurs 
to  us  on  this  occasion  ;  but  permit  us  to  assure  you  and  all  the 
members  of  your  family  that,  while  we  humbly  submit  to  the 
arrangements  of  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness,  we  part  from  you 
with  deep  and  unfeigned  regret,  accompanying  you  and  yours 
with  our  best  wishes,  and  praying  that  your  declining  years  — 
and  may  they  still  be  many  —  may  be  cheered  and  supported  by 
the  comforts  of  the  Spirit,  and  the  love  and  reverence  of  your 
friends  in  your  native  land,  until  at  last  you  be  called  from  your 
labors  of  love  on  earth,  to  the  rest  that  remaineth  for  the  peo 
ple  of  God. 

"  '  We  have  now  to  request  your  acceptance  of  this  timepiece, 
as  a  memorial,  however  inadequate,  of  the  sentiments  which  we 
all  entertain  towards  you,  and  as  something  to  remind  you  in 
after  years  of  many  in  Constantinople  who  love  and  revere  you. 
May  we  not  even  hope  that  it  may  be  long  regarded  by  your 
children  and  your  children's  children  as  a  simple  but  emphatic 
testimony  to  the  worth  of  an  honored  parent,  and  an  incentive 
to  all  of  them  to  imitate  his  example. 

"  '  T.  Hardy,  C.  S.  Hanson,  Mrs.  C.  S.  Hanson,  Charles  La 
Fontaine,  Mrs.  Rumball,  Rev.  Zabanski,  Rev.  H.  T.  Knapp, 
Mr.  arid  Mrs.  E.  La  Fontaine,  T.  Millingen,  H.  T.  Hanson, 
E.  F.  Ede,  G.  B.  Marshall,  Thomas  Baker,  R.  T.  Buck,  Rev. 
C.  B.  Gribble,  Rev.  A.  Thomson,  D.D.,  T.  H.  Charnaud, 
James  Binns,  John  Rowell,  Robert  Hay  den,  E.  Grace,  T.  R. 
Thomson,  George  Bill,  W.  Sellar,  W.  B.  Hopper,  R.  T.  Allan, 
John  Seager,  G.  H.  Clifton,  T.  R.  Parry,  W.  Dann,  Mr.  Wright, 
Rev.  C.  S.  Newman,  Henry  Lamb,  Thomas  Turner,  R.  Sarrell, 
M.  D.,  Mrs.  Sarrell,  Miss  E.  Whittet,  Miss  A.  Ewan,  Thomas 
Swan,  F.  Guarracino,  Misses  Walsh,  Rev.  A.  Tomery,  T.  Herd- 
man,  Mr.  W.  Kerr."' 


Mr.  Hanson,  in  a  few  appropriate  words,  presented  to  Dr. 
Goodell  the  testimonial,  with  the  address  engrossed  on  vellum. 
Dr.  Goodell,  with  deep  emotion,  in  replying,  referred  to  the 
peculiarly  pleasant  intercourse  he  had  always  enjoyed  with 
the  British  families,  with  one  of  which  —  Mr.  Hanson's  —  he 
had  been  most  happily  associated  from  the  time  of  his  first 
arrival,  in  1831.  Nothing  had  ever  occurred  to  break  the 
harmony  of  his  intercourse  with  them  all.  His  official  ser 
vices  had  been  cheerfully  rendered  for  their  benefit,  in  public 


PARTING    GIFTS.  447 

and  in  private ;  and  they  had  as  cheerfully  responded  to  his 
calls  for  aid  in  his  work,  and  most  liberally  when  the  native 
Christians  were  enduring  persecution  and  in  want.  He  con 
cluded  with  an  assurance  of  his  unfailing  remembrance  and 
affection  for  all  his  friends  at  Constantinople. 

The  following  is  the  inscription  on  the  timepiece,  a  valuable 
clock :  — 

"In  grateful  recollection  of  his  eminent  ministerial  ser 
vices  in  the  cause  of  his  divine  Master,  not  only  amongst  the 
Armenians  in  Turkey,  to  whom,  as  a  missionary  of  the 
American  Board,  he  was  especially  deputed,  but  also  among 
the  British  and  other  communities ;  and  with  admiration  of 
his  talents  and  labors  in  translating  the  word  of  God  into 
Armeno-Turkish,  with  affectionate  regard  also  for  his  noble 
catholicity  of  spirit,  for  his  gentleness  and  discretion,  and 
with  best  wishes  and  prayers  for  his  happy  return  and  peace 
ful  sojourn  in  his  native  land,  this  timepiece  is  presented  by 
members  of  the  British  community 

"To  THE  REV.  W.  GOODELL,  D.D., 

on  his  departure  from  Constantinople,  after  a  ministry  of 
forty-three  years  in  the  East." 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Hamlin,  President  of  Robert  College,  fol 
lowed  with  a  few  remarks,  in  the  course  of  which  he  charac 
terized  the  occasion  as  one  of  many  which  evidenced  the  deep 
sympathy  and  mutual  esteem  which  subsisted  between  the 
British  people  and  their  brethren  in  America,  and  expressed 
the  confident  hope  that  the  Christians  of  both  countries  would 
continue  to  co-operate  in  the  diffusion  of  Scripture  truth. 
He  assured  all  present  that  there  was  not  an  American  mis 
sionary  in  Turkey  who  did  not  feel  as  grateful  to  their  British 
friends  for  this  testimonial  to  their  venerable  father,  as  if  it 
had  been  bestowed  upon  himself.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Riggs,  of 
the  American  Mission,  then  offered  prayer. 

Other  testimonials  of  affection  from  different  families  and 
persons  were  added.  Among  the  most  grateful  was  one  pre 
sented  by  twenty-six  of  the  missionary  children,  one  of  whom 


448          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE.         / 

was  blind,  to  whom  Dr.  Goodell  returned  the  following  note 
of  acknowledgment :  — 

To  Blind    Charlie,  Chairman  of  the    Children's    Committee, 
together  with  all  the  other  members. 

VERY  DEAR  CHILDREN,  BABIES  AND  ALL,  —  On  being 
waited  upon  yesterday  by  your  honorable  deputation,  we  re 
membered  the  proverb,  that  "  in  some  places  it  never  rains 
but  it  pours,  and  that  sometimes  the  most  abundant  and 
refreshing  showers  come  last."  Certain  it  is,  that  no  kind 
ness  shown  us,  and  no  honors  rendered  us,  have  so  moved  our 
feelings  as  yours  have  done. 

We  read  over  with  great  interest  all  your  names,  and  re 
membered  all  the  dear  faces  that  belong  to  them,  not  only  all 
the  older  faces,  but  even  the  baby  faces  also ;  and  we  pray 
that  you  may  all  hereafter,  in  the  kingdom  of  our  Father, 
shine  as  the  sun  in  the  firmament. 

And  we  beseech  you  to  pray  for  us  that  we  may  not  be 
puffed  up  and  exalted  above  measure  by  these  abundant  revela 
tions  of  honor  made  to  us  these  last  days.  We  love  to  be 
loved ;  and  it  is  very  pleasant  to  be  remembered  by  our  friends, 
and  especially  by  the  children ;  and  we  shall  not  cease  to 
have  you  in  most  loving  and  prayerful  remembrance. 

Please,  God,  let  Charlie  live,  and  Willie,  and  Clara,  and 
Nellie,  and  Henry  ;  yea,  all  the  dear  ones  at  Bebek,  Pera,  and 
Galata,  and  Haas  Keuy,  and  Constantinople,  with  those  that 
have  gone  to  sea! 

We  cannot  reward  you,  dear  children,  for  your  kindness  to 
us,  so  unworthy ;  but  if  you  will  honor  Christ,  who  is  infi 
nitely  worthy  of  all  you  can  bestow  on  Him,  He  will  reward 
you  a  thousand-fold.  He  will  crown  you  with  eternal  joy. 

We  do  not  expect  to  look  again  upon  your  sweet  faces 
here  below,  but  we  hope  we  shall  meet  you  all  — 

"  On  the  other  side  of  Jordan, 
In  the  sweet  fields  of  Eden, 
Where  the  tree  of  life  doth  bloom." 

Pray  for  us,  that  we  may  not  fail  of  crossing  safely  over 
to  the  other  side  ;  and  we  also  will  pray  for  you.     And  may 
the  Lord  Jesus  Himself  take  us  all  up  and  carry  us  in  His 
own  blessed  arms,  and  then  we  shall  be  safe. 
Your  very  loving  friends, 

W.  GOODELL,  and 
A.  P.  GOODELL. 


LEAVE-TAKINGS.  449 

The  Hon.  E.  Joy  Morris,  United  States  ambassador  to 
the  Sublime  Porte,  on  the  eve  of  the  departure  of  Dr.  Good- 
ell,  accompanied  the  presentation  of  a  valuable  token  of  his 
regard  with  the  following  note  :  — 

UNITED  STATES  LEGATION, 

BUYUK-DERE,  June  28,  1865. 
Rev.  W.  GOODELL,  D.D. : 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  beg  you  to  accept  the  accompanying 
silver  service  as  a  memorial  of  the  baptism  of  our  daughter 
Roumelie,  and  also  of  the  great  esteem  entertained  for  you 
by  Mrs.  Morris  and  myself.  Most  deeply  do  we  regret  your 
departure  from  Turkey,  where  your  Christian  life  and  virtues 
are  so  widely  known  and  appreciated.  In  my  intercourse 
with  men  I  have  never  met  with  one  who,  in  his  actions, 
speech,  and  manner  of  life,  more  truly  represented  the  ex 
cellencies  of  the  Christian  character.  The  daily  walk  of  such 
men  as  yourself  shows  what  moral  beauty  and  sublime  virtue 
there  is  in  the  true  Christian  character. 

With  Mrs.  Morris's  and  my  own  most  affectionate  regards 
to  Mrs.  Goodell  and  daughters,  and  the  hope  that  you  may  all 
safely  arrive  in  America,  and  there  pass  the  rest  of  your  life 
in  peace  and  happiness  among  your  kindred,  I  remain, 
Most  affectionately  and  truly  yours, 

E.  JOY  MORRIS. 

Before  leaving  Constantinople,  Dr.  Goodell  went  into  the 
city  proper  and  spent  several  days,  visiting  from  house  to 
house,  conversing,  singing,  and  praying  with  the  families  over 
whom  he  had  had  a  pastoral  care,  —  many  of  whose  members 
he  had  been  instrumental  in  leading  into  the  fold  of  the  great 
Shepherd.  When  he  had  taken  leave  of  one  of  these  fam 
ilies,  and  was  passing  out  of  the  door,  a  little  boy  about  eight 
years  of  age  seized  his  hand,  and,  looking  up  into  his  face,  said, 
out  of  the  promptings  of  his  own  heart,  "  When  you  are  gone 
away  I  will  be  a  preacher  here  in  your  place."  He  laid  his 
hands  on  the  head  of  the  boy  and  blessed  him.  In  speaking 
of  the  incident  in  a  public  address  after  his  return  to  this 
country,  he  said :  "  I  now  commend  this  little  boy  to  your 
prayers.  I  do  not  remember  his  name,  but  no  matter,  the 

cc 


450  FORTY  YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

Lord  will  know  what  little  boy  you  mean,  especially  if 
you  tell  Him  it  was  the  little  fellow  who  has  engaged  to  be  a 
preacher  in  my  stead." 

He  devoted  several  days  to  farewell  calls  upon  the  families 
in  the  suburbs  of  Constantinople,  native  as  well  as  foreign, 
for  whom  he  had  lived,  and  labored,  and  prayed ;  and  they 
thronged  his  house  to  give  him  their  salaams  and  to  receive 
his  farewell  blessing.  The  evening  before  he  was  to  sail, 
about  a  hundred  of  the  people  came  to  sing  a  farewell  hymn 
which  they  had  prepared,  expressive  of  their  obligations  to 
him.  He  received  them  as  a  father  would  his  children  who 
came  to  take  their  leave,  but  he  told  them  their  hymn  should 
be  in  praise  of  Christ  instead  of  himself.  The  day  that  he 
was  to  leave,  many  of  the  old  Armenians,  as  well  as  the 
Protestants,  came  to  his  house ;  and  among  the  crowd  that 
followed  him,  weeping,  to  the  wharf,  were  some  who  had 
stoned  him  and  spat  upon  him  in  the  days  of  the  persecution. 

"  Amid  many  tears  and  benedictions,"  he  left  Constanti 
nople  on  the  27th  of  June,  1865.  His  heart  clung  to  it  as 
the  scene  of  his  labors,  where  he  had  witnessed  so  many 
wonderful  displays  of  the  grace  of  God,  and  he  still  yearned 
after  the  work  that  he  was  laying  down  for  ever.  Here,  as  the 
pioneer  of  a  noble  band  of  soldiers  of  Christ,  he  had  planted 
the  standard  of  the  cross,  thirty-four  years  before.  From  the 
steamer  on  which  he  sailed  he  wrote  to  his  daughter,  then  in  the 
far  East :  "  As  we  swept  round  Seraglio  Point,  and  I  caught 
the  last  glimpse  of  Constantinople  and  its  magnificent  sur 
roundings,  I  kept  saying  in  my  heart,  '  Farewell,  thou  beauti 
ful  city,  may  thy  moral  beauties  soon  equal  all  thy  natural ! 
I  should  love  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  thy  people  once  more.' " 

On  board  the  steamer  he  met  the  Algerian  chieftain,  Abd- 
el-Kadr,  who  had  signalized  himself  as  the  protector  of  the 
Christians  during  the  massacre  at  Damascus  in  1860.  This 
kind  and  liberal-hearted  Mussulman  conversed  very  freely 
with  the  missionary  in  regard  to  his  own  checkered  career, 
and  made  many  inquiries  respecting  the  Turks  of  Constanti- 


REACHES   BOSTON.  451 

nople  who  had  become  Christians.  Dr.  Goodell  tarried  a 
short  time  at  Athens,  and  then  sailed  for  Marseilles,  reaching 
Paris  on  the  7th  of  July.  At  London  he  rested  quietly  for 
a  few  days,  and  on  the  20th  sailed  from  Liverpool,  and  ar- 
arrived  at  Boston  on  the  3d  of  August. 

At  the  monthly  concert  in  Park  Street  church  he  made  an 
interesting  address  on  the  condition  and  prospects  of  Turkey, 
and  again  spoke  on  the  same  subject  at  Roxbury.  After 
visiting  several  friends  in  Boston  and  the  neighboring  towns, 
he  went  to  Hartford,  to  the  home  of  the  Rev.  Isaac  Bird  and 
Mrs.  Bird,  with  whom  he  left  this  country  in  1822,  and  with 
whom  he  had  been  intimately  associated  in  missionary  labor 
for  many  years  at  Malta  and  Beyrout.  He  preached  at 
Hartford,  and  delivered  addresses  at  various  places  in  the 
vicinity.  Wherever  he  went  he  was  called  upon  to  give 
some  account  of  his  work  in  the  East,  and  he  was  always 
ready  for  the  service. 


452          FORTY   YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

IN  October,  1865,  the  American  Board  held  its  fifty-sixth 
annual  meeting  at  Chicago.  Although  feeble  in  body 
and  in  voice,  he  desired  to  share  once  more  in  the  hallowed 
interest  of  the  yearly  gatherings  of  the  society,  in  whose 
service  he  had  worn  out  the  energies  of  his  life.  From  the 
time  when  a  mere  youth  he  left  his  father's  house,  and  went 
out  alone  and  unaided  to  acquire  an  education,  he  had  known 
no  other  purpose  in  living  but  to  promote  the  great  object  of 
this  institution,  —  the  publication  of  the  gospel  of  salvation 
among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  'Now  that  he  had  come  to 
the  borders  of  the  river,  and  was  about  to  pass  over  to  the 
other  side,  to  the  land  of  rest,  he  had  a  strong  desire  to  min 
gle  once  more  with  those  who  were  to  guide  and  carry  on 
the  work. 

Probably  nothing  connected  with  the  meeting  at  Chicago 
excited  greater  interest  at  the  time,  or  will  be  remembered 
with  more  pleasure,  than  his  venerable  presence,  which  was 
a  benediction  in  itself.  With  his  aged  form  bent  with  years 
and  toil,  his  beaming  countenance,  his  snow-white  beard,  his 
head  wearing  the  Oriental  cap,  on  which  was  inscribed  in 
Arabic  characters  the  motto,  "  The  hoary  head  is  a  crown  of 
glory,  if  it  be  found  in  the  way  of  righteousness,"  wrought  by 
the  hands  of  Eastern  converts  to  the  cross,  and  still  more  by 
his  cheerful  bearing,  his  spiritual  conversation,  none  the  less 
spiritual  because  flavored  with  his  sparkling  humor,  he  made 
an  impression  which  will  ever  be  associated  with  this  anni 
versary  of  the  Board. 


MEETING   OF    BOARD   AT   CHICAGO.  453 

An  incident  that  occurred  during  the  meeting  illustrates 
his  love  of  practical  humor.  One  day,  while  the  great  con 
gregation  was  gathering,  he  took  his  seat  on  the  floor  of  the 
hall,  when  two  ladies  came  in  and  sat  next  him.  One  of 
them  turned  and  asked  him  if  he  was  acquainted  with  Dr. 
Goodell.  He  said  he  was.  She  then  asked  if  he  saw  him 
on  the  stage.  He  looked  up  and  down  the  platform,  and  at 
length  said  he  did  not  see  him  there,  and  he  thought  he  was 
not  among  the  gentlemen  on  the  stage.  She  then  asked  him 
if  he  would  not  be  so  good  as  to  look  over  the  hall,  as  she 
was  very  anxious  to  get  a  sight  of  him,  which  he  did,  looking 
in  all  directions.  At  length,  turning  rather  abruptly  toward 
her,  he  said,  "  Why,  madam,  he  is  sitting  just  next  to  you." 
She  looked  first  at  her  friend  who  was  with  her,  then  at  him, 
and  it  was  some  time  before  she  could  comprehend  what  he 
meant.  When  she  awoke  to  his  meaning  she  was  covered 
with  confusion,  and  said  to  him,  "  Why,  sir,  I  am  so  ashamed." 
He  replied,  "  And  I  am  so  ashamed  too." 

His  voice  was  too  feeble"  for  him  to  address  the  great  as 
sembly,  but  he  spoke  frequently  at  the  smaller  gatherings,  and 
it  was  suggested  to  him  by  one  of  the  officers  of  the  Board 
to  prepare  a  letter  that  should  be  read  by  some  one  in  his 
stead,  before  the  Board  should  adjourn.  Accordingly  near 
the  close  of  the  meeting  he  rose  on  the  platform  and  said :  — 

"When  I  went  from  my  native  country,  in  1822,  it  was  to 
go  to  Jerusalem ;  that  was  my  destination,  there  I  expected 
to  live,  to  labor,  and  to  die  and  be  buried,  arising  again  at 
the  resurrection  of  the  just.  I  have  never  been  there.  I 
have  now  set  my  face  toward  the  New  Jerusalem,  taking 
Chicago  on  my  way."  (This  allusion  awakened  loud  and 
long  applause.) 

"  As  my  voice  and  my  strength  will  not  allow  me  to  ad 
dress  this  large  assembly,  I  have,  since  my  arrival  here,  pre 
pared  my  thoughts,  and  addressed  them  to  the  respected 
President  of  this  Board,  and  will  now  request  Mr.  Dodge  to 
read  the  paper  to  the  Board." 


454          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

To  the  Rev.  MARK  HOPKINS,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  President  of  the 
A.  B.  C.F.M.: 

VERY  HONORED  AND  DEAR  SIR,  —  Including  two  years 
which  I  spent  as  an  agent  of  the  Board,  it  is  now  more  than 
forty-five  years  since  I  entered  the  service,  and  came  under 
the  direction  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions,  and  about  forty-three  years  since  I  received 
a  commission  from  your  Prudential  Committee  to  labor  as 
a  missionary  under  their  direction,  among  the  mingled  peoples 
of  Asia  Minor. 

On  account  of  my  age  and  infirmities  it  should  be  known 
that  I  am  no  longer  able  to  perform  the  active  duties  of  a 
missionary,  and  having  no  voice  or  strength  left  to  address 
this  great  congregation  on  the  subject,  I  choose  to  come  in 
this  way  by  letter,  and  place  in  your  hands,  honored  sir,  the 
commission  which  I  received  about  forty-three  years  ago. 
Not  that  I  wish  my  connection  with  you  to  be  really  ever 
sundered,  unless  you  yourselves  should  consider  it  desirable 
for  the  sake  of  the  good  cause ;  for  when  I  entered  this  holy 
service  it  was  for  life,  nor  do  I  wish  it  to  terminate  but  with 
my  life.  I  wish  it  to  be  understood  that  it  is  not  through 
any  feeling  of  discouragement  that  I  now  retire  from  the 
field,  for  the  work  never  appeared  to  me  more  hopeful  than 
it  does  now.  Nor  is  it  through  any  dissatisfaction  with  the 
Board,  with  the  Prudential  Committee,  or  with  any  of  my 
brethren  and  sisters  of  the  mission.  More  kind,  more  con 
siderate,  and  more  affectionate  brethren  and  sisters,  than 
those  with  whom  it  has  been  my  happiness  to  be  associated, 
earth  never  saw,  nor  can  I  easily  be  made  to  feel  that  even 
the  millennium  itself  will  ever  produce  any  thing  better. 
That  the  Prudential  Committee  and  the  Secretaries  may 
have  committed  some  mistakes  is  not  strange  ;  the  only  strange 
thing  is  that  they  have  not  committed  more,  and  greater. 
One  thing  is  certain,  were  I  to  live  my  life  over  again,  and 
were  it  left  to  my  choice,  I  would  again  enter  the  service  of 
the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions, 
and  I  would  again  put  myself  under  the  direction  of  the  same 
Prudential  Committee,  and  I  would  again  choose  to  carry  on 
my  correspondence  with  the  churches  through  the  same  be 
loved  and  respected  Secretaries. 

I  remember  when  the  whole  American  Board  could  at 
their  annual  gatherings  be  easily  accommodated  in  an  ordi 
nary  parlor :  now  they  can  hardly  be  accommodated  in  any 


REMINISCENCES.  455 

of  our  largest  churches.  I  remember  when  it  was  thought 
impossible  for  the  American  churches  to  undertake  the  support 
of  three  missionaries  in  foreign  lands,  and  a  deputation  was 
sent  to  England  to  see  if  the  London  Missionary  Society 
would  not  come  to  their  help  and  pledge  themselves  to  sup 
port  one  and  a  half,  or  at  least  one  of  the  three.  "  A  little 
one  has  become  a  thousand,"  or  rather  thousands,  many  thou 
sands,  and  "  a  small  one  a  great  nation" 

I  consider  it  a  mark  of  special  favor,  and  worthy  of  special 
notice  and  of  devout  gratitude  to  God,  that  I  am  permitted 
to  bring  to  you  the  same  dear  companion  of  my  life,  whom, 
amidst  your  prayers  and  benedictions,  I  led  forth  forty-three 
years  ago ;  and  although  she  has  less  of  youth,  and  it  may  be, 
in  the  estimation  of  the  world,  less  of  beauty  than  she  had  at 
that  time,  yet  in  my  estimation  she  is  not  less  worthy  of  all 
the  confidence  arid  all  the  affection  she  began  to  claim  and 
received  from  me  forty-eight  years  ago. 

Contrary  to  the  repeated  and  expressed  wish  of  many  of 
our  friends,  that  we  might  have  no  family,  God  has  given  us 
nine  children.  One  of  these,  the  daughter  of  a  missionary, 
the  wife  of  a  missionary,  and  a  missionary  herself,  we  left  in 
the  land  of  the  Moslem,  at  Kharpoot,  near  the  banks  of  the 
Euphrates,  where,  with  her  husband,  the  Rev.  H.  N.  Barnum, 
and  their  beloved  associates,  they  are  telling  the  good  news 
of  salvation  to  the  perishing  around  them.  Seven  of  my 
children  are  in  different  parts  of  this  country,  no  two  of  them 
being  found  in  the  same  place  ;  arid  one  has,  we  trust,  gone  to 
a  better  country,  even  a  heavenly. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bird,  who  sailed  with  us  from 
America,  and  were  our  associates  at  Beyrout,  still  survive. 
Two  of  their  children  are  engaged  in  the  missionary  work,  — 
a  son,  Mr.  William  Bird,  on  Mount  Lebanon,  and  a  daughter, 
Mrs.  Van  Lennep,  at  Smyrna,  and  all  their  other  children 
are  occupying  posts  of  usefulness. 

Of  all  the  missionaries  of  this  Board  I  think  of  but  three 
who  are  older  than  myself,  —  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thurston,  of  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  whom  I  knew  at  the  Theological  Semi 
nary,  Andover ;  the  Rev.  Levi  Spaulding,  in  India,  whom  I 
knew  both  at  Dartmouth  College  and  at  Andover ;  and  the 
Rev.  Dr.  King,  of  Athens,  whom  I  knew  at  Andover,  and 
who,  with  his  fellow-laborer,  Pliny  Fisk,  welcomed  us  to 
Beyrout. 

And  may  I  ask  your  special  prayers  for  us  poor  old  men  ? 


456          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

for  though  we  are  almost  through  the  wilderness,  and  are 
even  now  in  sight  of  the  promised  land,  yet  we  remember 
that  the  children  of  Israel,  after  they  had  been  wandering  in 
the  wilderness  forty  years,  and  were  already  on  the  very 
borders  of  the  land  long  desired,  and  could  actually  look 
over  and  see  the  green  fields  and  vine-clad  hills,  yet  even 
there  many  of  them  perished.  Pray  for  us,  beloved  friends, 
that  we  may  not  fall  after  the  same  example  of  unbelief. 

We  die,  but  God  will  surely  visit  you.  Fisk  and  Parsons 
of  former  times,  and  the  beloved  Dodd  and  Morgan  of  the 
present,  were  not  suffered  to  continue,  by  reason  of  death. 
But  Jesus  lives  ;  His  cause  is  marching  on  and  His  kingdom 
is  near,  and  still  nearer  coming ;  and  of  that  kingdom,  yea, 
and  of  the  increase  of  that  kingdom,  there  shall  be  no  end. 

With  this  faith,  and  in  the  midst  of  all  these  bright  hopes, 
I  now  retire  from  active  service,  but  still  desiring  to  be  use 
ful,  and  begging  your  committee  to  point  out  to  me,  from 
time  to  time,  any  way  in  which  they  may  think  I  can  render 
some  small  service. 

May  you,  honored  sir,  long  be  spared  to  preside  over  this 
great  body  on  these  joyful  occasions.  And  may  you,  and  all 
this  congregation,  see  the  eternal  good  of  God's  chosen,  and 
rejoice  with  His  inheritance. 

Your  aged,  very  affectionate,  but  very  unworthy  fellow- 
laborer  in  Christ  Jesus,  our  Lord, 

W.    GOODELL. 

CHICAGO,  Oct.  3,  1865. 


From  Chicago  he  went  to  visit  a  brother  in  Wisconsin, 
stopping  often  by  the  way,  going  and  returning,  to  address 
numerous  assemblies.  His  visit  at  Auburn  Theological  Sem 
inary,  in  returning,  will  long  be  remembered  by  those  who 
were  students  at  the  time,  as  if  it  had  been  a  call  from  one 
of  the  patriarchs.  He  addressed  them  in  their  public  gather 
ing,  and  conversed  personally  with  several  who  had  a  mis 
sionary  life  in  view.  He  went  thence  to  Mount  Holyoke 
Female  Seminary,  in  which  he  had  ever  taken  a  deep  in 
terest  ;  and  in  New  York  City  was  once  more  at  home  with 
the  beloved  friend  of  his  youth,  and  the  son  of  his  honored 
preceptor,  Rev.  William  Adams,  D.D. 


LETTER   OF   S.    I.    PRIME,   D.  D.  457 

He  spent  a  day  at  the  residence  of  Rev.  S.  Irenaeus 
Prime,  D.D.,  on  the  Hudson,  who  made  the  following  men 
tion  of  the  visit  in  the  "  New  York  Observer,"  of  Nov.  30, 
1865:  — 

"  It  is  only  in  idea  that  I  write  by  the  fireside.  In  these 
warm  Indian  summer  days,  the  fire  has  gone  out,  and  if  there 
were  any  leaves  on  the  trees  I  would  go  out  too.  One  of 
these  delightful  genial  days  has  been  spent  with  a  venerable 
and  lovely  old  man  from  a  far  country,  long  known  to  the 
religious  world  as  one  of  our  missionaries  at  Constantinople. 
Twelve  years  ago  I  sat  with  him  in  his  house  on  the  Bos- 
phorus,  and  was  now  glad  to  welcome  him  to  mine  on  the 
Hudson. 

"  Seventy-three  years  ago  William  Goodell  was  born  in 
Templeton,  Mass.  He  grew  up  to  boyhood  there,  and  at 
Phillips  Academy  in  Andover  was  prepared  for  college. 
While  here  his  uncle,  Solomon  Goodell,  sent  to  the  principal, 
Mr.  Adams,  to  ask  if  the  boy  was  '  worth  raising,'  and  learn 
ing  that  he  was,  the  good  uncle  sent  him  a  yoke  of  fat  oxen 
*  to  draw  him  over  the  hills  of  learning.'  From  Andover  he 
went  to  Dartmouth  College,  graduating  in  1817,  and  then 
to  Andover  Theological  Seminary,  where  he  completed  his 
course  in  1820.  During  these  years  of  study,  a  young  man 
by  the  name  of  Temple  was  his  room-mate,  and  afterwards 
his  fellow-missionary  to  the  East:  the  distinguished  Daniel 
Temple,  of  the  Smyrna  mission,  who  returned  to  this  country 
a  few  years  ago  in  feeble  health,  and  died.  It  so  occurred  in 
providence  that  Dr.  Goodell  arrived  here  on  a  visit  just  in 
time  to  preach  the  funeral  sermon  of  his  old  chum  and  life 
long  friend. 

"  These  men  were  beautiful  types  of  two  contrasted  kinds 
of  piety.  Temple  was  inclined  to  take  more  serious,  perhaps 
darker  and  more  desponding,  views  than  Goodell,  whose 
buoyant  spirits  were  always  rejoicing  in  the  sunlight.  I  have 
often  told  a  story  which  I  repeated  to  the  good  man  at  din 
ner,  and  asked  him  if  it  were  true :  One  day  at  Andover, 
while  they  were  sitting  in  their  room  together,  Temple  said  to 
Goodell,  with  a  heavy  sigh  (ab  imo.pectore),  '  Ah,  me  !  1  don't 
see  how  I  shall  ever  get  through  the  world  ! '  '  Why,'  replied 
Goodell, '  did  you  ever  hear  of  anybody  who  stuck  fast  by  the 
way  ? '  The  doctor  laughed  heartily  at  the  story  and  said  it 
did  not  originate  with  himself. 
20 


458  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

"  Then  I  ventured  to  tell  him  another,  which  he  said  was 
true,  and  true  of  himself  and  his  early  friend  :  Just  before 
they  went  abroad  as  missionaries,  they  were  visiting  together 
at  the  house  of  a  hospitable  lady  in  Salem,  Mass.,  who  said, 
after  welcoming  them,  '  Mr.  Temple,  take  the  rocking-chair.' 
*  No,  madam,  if  you  please,'  said  Mr.  Temple,  '  I  will  take 
another,  missionaries  must  learn  to  do  without  the  luxuries 
of  life.'  '  Well,'  said  the  lady,  turning  to  Mr.  Goodell,  '  You 
will  take  it.'  '  Oh,  certainly,'  he  replied,  '  missionaries  must 
learn  to  sit  anywhere  ! ' 

**  These  two  men  had  diversities  of  gifts,  but  the  same 
spirit.'  They  were  constant  correspondents  (exchanging  a  let 
ter  a  week,  I  believe)  as  long  as  both  were  alive.  While  they 
were  at  different  stations  in  the  East,  Mr.  Temple  once 
wrote  to  Mr.  Goodell,  referring  to  the  long  fraternal  cor 
respondence  that  had  been  carried  on  between  them  since  they 
first  met  at  Phillips  Academy  in  Andover,  and  expressing 
anew  the  great  regard  that  he  had  for  his  beloved  brother ; 
but  there  was  one  thing  he  had  long  wished  to  say  to  him, 
and  he  knew  it  would  be  received  in  the  kind  spirit  in  which 
it  was  written.  It  was  that  he  sometimes  thought  his  good 
brother  Goodell  laughed  a  little  too  much  for  one  in  his 
position.  Brother  Goodell  replied,  with  his  usual  frankness, 
that  he  had  no  doubt  he  deserved  the  reproof,  but  he  added, 
4  You  know,  brother  Temple,  I  have  always  to  do  the  laugh 
ing  for  both  of  us.'  And  so  the  account  was  made  per 
fectly  square  between  them  again.  In  later  life  Mr.  Temple 
overcame  his  early  tendency  to  despondency,  and  became 
more  cheerful  in  his  work ;  but  through  life  they  doubtless 
proved  the  truth  of  the  saying,  '  the  boy  is  father  of  the 
man.' 

"  Forty-three  years  ago  Dr.  Goodell  sailed  with  his  wife, 
who  is  now  here  with  him,  from  New  York  for  the  Oriental 
world,  to  carry  the  word  of  life  to  the  perishing  on  the  shores 
of  the  Mediterranean.  At  Malta  he  mastered  the  languages 
of  the  East,  and  at  Beyrout  for  some  years  he  pursued  his 
labors.  In  1831  he  was  removed  to  Constantinople,  where 
he  has  spent  the  balance  of  his  useful  life.  He  has  preached 
there  in  several  different  languages,  —  English,  Arabic,  Ar 
menian,  Greek,  Turkish,  and  Italian.  But  the  great  work 
of  his  life  was  translating  the  Holy  Scriptures  into  the  Ar- 
meno-Turkish  language,  which  he  did  alone,  —  a  work  that 
"airly  places  his  name  alongside  of  Wicklif  and  Tyndale. 


DIVERSIFIED   LIFE.  459 

He  has  lived  to  see  it  published  and  widely  read  among  the 
people  of  that  benighted  land. 

"  Worn  out  with  years  and  toil,  and  unable  to  bear  the 
labors  of  the  pulpit  or  the  study,  he  has  come  home  to  pass 
the  evening  of  his  days  among  his  children  and  friends. 
With  his  snow-white  beard,  and  his  form  bent  with  age 
and  bodily  weakness,  he  is  venerable  and  singularly  inter 
esting  in  appearance.  Feeble  as  he  is,  his  vivacious  and 
playful  intellect  is  as  clear  and  lively  as  ever,  while  his  con 
versation,  always  seasoned  with  the  salt  of  grace,  is  also 
seasoned  with  another  salt,  the  Attic,  which  imparts  a  pecul 
iar  flavor  to  his  words  in  the  social  circle. 

"  Paul  himself  could  scarcely  write  a  more  diversified 
chapter  of  '  remarkable  experiences '  than  Father  Goodell,  if 
he  should  condense  into  a  few  chapters  the  story  of  his  life. 
The  trials  of  childhood  and  youth,  his  struggles  into  the  work 
to  which  he  was  called,  perils  by  land  and  sea,  plundered  by 
Arabs,  his  life  attempted  by  poison  among  the  Turks,  living 
in  the  midst  of  the  plague  that  killed  a  thousand  and  more 
daily,  and  fires  that  swept  off  every  house  but  eight  where 
he  dwelt :  such  is  an  outline  of  the  life  he  has  led,  yet  he  is 
the  same  genial,  pleasant,  cheerful  man  that  he  was  when  he 
took  the  rocking-chair  in  Salem,  nearly  a  half-century  since. 

"  It  was  a  joy  to  have  the  blessed  old  man  here ;  to  have 
him  sit  in  the  old,  oak  chair  under  the  leafless  branches  of 
the  trees,  and  so  become  part  of  the  associations  that  make 
up  the  charm  of  rural  life.  We  owe  such  men  a  debt  of 
gratitude  beyond  all  means  to  pay.  He  has  been  our  repre 
sentative  all  these  long  years  in  the  Eastern  world.  He  has 
borne  our  burden  of  life's  duties  there.  And  what  an  ex 
ample  to  our  youth  is  he !  Not  one  of  them  but  has  a  better 
prospect  of  usefulness  than  he  had,  yet  what  a  work  he  has 
done  !  I  would  love  to  have  the  crown  that  will  one  day 
take  the  place  of  his  Turkish  fez !  For  well  do  I  know, 
when  a  few  more  suns  shall  have  set,  and  his  goes  down,  that 
he  will  shine  as  a  star  in  the  firmament,  and  ages  hence, 
when  the  names  of  great  men  have  been  forgotten,  many 
whom  he  has  turned  to  righteousness  will  bless  the  name  of 
William  Goodell. 

"  IREISLEUS." 

On  the  23d  of  December,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Goodell  reached 
the  home  of  their  son  William  Goodell,  M.D.,  at  Philadel- 


460    FORTY  YEARS  IN  THE  TURKISH  EMPIRE. 

phia,  which  was  to  be  their  own  until  they  should  be  called 
to  the  mansions  prepared  for  them  in  the  skies.  Together 
with  Mrs.  Goodell  he  became  connected  by  letter  with  the 
Central  Congregational  Church  in  Philadelphia,  then  under 
the  pastoral  care  of  the  Rev.  Edward  Hawes.  He  identified 
himself  at  once  with  this  church,  and  according  to  his  bodily 
strength  became  an  active  worker  in  seeking  to  promote  its 
edification  and  the  usefulness  of  its  members.  He  took  the 
charge  of  a  large  Bible  class,  composed  chiefly  of  professional 
and  business  men,  who  regarded  it  as  a  great  privilege  to  sit 
at  his  feet,  to  imbibe  his  spirit,  and  to  receive  the  truth  at 
his  lips.  He  regularly  attended  the  social  as  well  as  public 
services  of  the  church,  now  and  then  in  a  few  words,  and 
occasionally  by  more  extended  addresses,  suggesting  to  others 
the  precious  truths  of  the  Gospel  which  had  been  a  cordial 
to  his  own  spirit,  cheering  them  with  its  consolations  and 
encouraging  them  with  its  hopes.  His  presence  and  bearing 
were  always  like  the  traditional  memories  of  the  Apostle 
John  hi  his  old  age,  who,  when  unable  to  say  more,  would 
say  to  the  people  of  God  as  he  met  them,  "  Little  children, 
love  one  another."  Frequently  he  would  rise  in  the  social 
meeting,  and  with  great  impressiveness  repeat  some  hymn 
that  breathed  his  own  feelings. 

In  February,  1866,  as  he  was  returning  on  the  Sabbath 
from  his  Bible  class,  he  fell  on  the  ice  and  broke  his  arm. 
Owing  to  his  advanced  age  and  great  feebleness,  it  was  feared 
the  accident  would  be  attended  with  serious  consequences  to 
his  general  health  and  vigor,  but  he  recovered  from  it  with 
remarkable  celerity.  While  he  was  confined  to  his  room  by 
this  accident,  a  friend  called  on  him,  and  in  the  course  of 
conversation  spoke  of  a  meeting  that  was  to  be  held  at  the 
church  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day.  Dr.  Goodell  imme 
diately  expressed  his  earnest  desire  to  attend,  and  said  he 
thought  he  should  be  able  to  do  so.  Mrs.  Goodell  remon 
strated,  assuring  him  it  would  be  at  great  risk,  and  that  he 
ought  not  to  think  of  such  a  thing.  He  turned  to  his  wife 


A   BROKEN   ARM.  461 

with  his  peculiar  quizzical  look,  and  said,  "  A  man's  foes 
shall  be  they  of  his  own  household." 

As  soon  as  he  was  able  to  use  a  pen,  he  wrote  to  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Schauffler,  of  Constantinople  :  — 

PHILADELPHIA,  March  2,  1866. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  It  is  now  almost  five  weeks  since 
I  have  used  my  pen.  1  take  it  to-day  for  the  first  time  since 
I  fell  and  broke  my  arm,  and  my  first  letter  is  to  you,  one 
of  the  oldest  and  best  friends  I  have  remaining  on  earth. 
This  right  hand  has  written  many  things,  and  I  have  resolved 
that  whatever  it  may  write  hereafter  shall  be  in  a  greater 
degree  to  the  honor  and  glory  of  Christ  than  many  of  its 
former  scribblings. 

With  my  left  hand  I  can  do  nothing  in  the  way  of  writing, 
and  very  little  in  any  other  way.  I  am  amazed  that  it  should 
have  lived  with  me  now  more  than  seventy-four  years,  and 
yet  should  have  learned  so  little.  It  must  have  seen  my 
right  hand  do  hundreds  and  thousands  of  things,  arid  yet  it 
seems  ignorant  of  every  thing.  It  must  be,  I  think,  that  my 
right  hand  did  not  let  my  left  hand  know  what  it  did,  and 
this  shows  the  importance  of  not  interpreting  the  Bible  too 
literally. 

...  If  you  have  never  given  special  thanks  to  God  for  the 
discovery  of  ether  and  chloroform,  I  pray  you  do  it  without 
delay,  for  what  a  wonderful  blessing  it  must  have  been  in  the 
army  hospitals  !  I  myself  could  not  endure  to  have  any  one 
touch  my  arm  without  fainting  at  once.  But  when  I  was  put 
under  the  influence  of  ether  and  chloroform  combined,  though 
I  sat  bolt  upright  and  knew  all  that  was  going  on,  and  saw 
the  whole,  yet  I  felt  no  faintness  and  no  pain  whatever. 
Indeed,  I  was  perfectly  comfortable.  The  arm  was  broken 
completely,  a  little  below  the  shoulder.  But  it  must  have 
been  set  remarkably  well,  for  I  have  already  thrown  off  my 
splints  and  bandages,  and  find  this  arm  as  straight  as  the  other. 
I  can  now  feed  and  dress  and  undress  myself,  and  I  now  lift 
up  both  hands  and  exclaim,  Praise  be  to  God,  I  have  two 
good  arms  still.  Arid  with  this  same  right  hand  I  am  now 
writing  you,  my  brother.  Praise  be  to  God,  too,  that  I  had 
the  best  of  surgeons  in  my  son,  and  the  best  of  nurses  in  my 
own  wife. 

Your  faithful  friend  and  brother, 

W.  GOODELL. 


462  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

When  it  was  thought  safe  for  him  to  venture  out,  he  went 
to  meet  his  Bible  class,  but  in  returning  homeward  he  was 
caught  by  a  sudden  gale  of  wind  and  was  literally  thrown 
upon  his  head.  His  hat  protected  him,  and  prevented  his 
sustaining  any  injury  beyond  a  few  scratches  on  his  face. 
His  broken  arm  was  not  injured.  After  this  occurrence  he 
wrote  to  a  friend,  "  I  never  go  out  now  without  offering  up 
the  prayer, '  Hold  thou  me  up  and  I  shall  be  safe.'  And,  in 
deed,  I  have  heard  of  worse  falls  than  those  Dr.  Todd  and 
Dr.  Poor  and  myself  had.*  But  the  good  Lord  is  able  to 
preserve  us  from  every  evil,  moral  as  well  as  physical." 

With  returning  spring  he  was  much  invigorated,  and  dur 
ing  the  summer  he  made  an  extended  tour,  which  was  as 
truly  a  missionary  tour  as  any  that  he  had  ever  undertaken 
in  his  Oriental  field.  Wherever  he  went,  his  presence  and 
his  voice  were  constantly  pleading  the  cause  of  missions,  and 
commending  the  Saviour,  in  whom  he  trusted,  to  the  love 
and  confidence  of  all.  He  first  accepted  an  invitation  to 
Vassar  College,  at  Poughkeepsie,  where  he  had  a  charming 
sojourn.  Thence  he  went  to  Utica,  to  visit  the  family  of  one 
of  his  missionary  associates  ;  then  to  Canandaigua,  to  visit  his 
eldest  sister,  where,  on  arriving,  he  learned  that  two  days 
before,  while  walking  in  her  garden,  she  suddenly  fell  and 
never  spoke  again.  In  his  own  record  of  the  event  he  said, 
"  She  had  been  makkig  great  preparations  to  welcome  me, 
while  the  Lord  was  preparing  to  receive  her." 

While  at  Canandaigua  he  wrote  in  his  journal :  — 

"  Sunday  morning,  June  10.  Preached  for  Dr.  Daggett. 
In  the  afternoon  addressed  the  Sabbath  school,  and  in  the 
evening  made  a  missionary  address. 

"  Monday  morning,  June  11.  Conducted  the  opening  ex 
ercises  of  the  Young  Men's  Seminary.  Talked  with  some 
sixty  or  seventy  young  men.  Made  two  calls  on  sick  people, 
with  whom  I  talked  and  prayed.  One  little  boy  very  ill  with 
typhoid  fever.  Visited  him  several  times,  and  taught  him 
this  little  verse  :  — 

*  Drs.  Todd  and  Poor  had  both  fallen  on  the  ice  about  the  same 
time,  and  each  had  an  arm  broken. 


INTERESTING   INCIDENTS.  463 

" '  Almighty  God,  I'm  very  ill, 
But  cure  me,  if  it  be  thy  will ; 
For  thou  canst  take  away  my  pain, 
And  make  me  strong  and  well  again. 

"'Let  me  be  patient  every  day, 

And  mind  what  those  who  nurse  me  say; 
And  grant  that  all  I  have  to  take 
May  do  me  good,  for  Jesus'  sake.'  " 

On  one  occasion  during  this  journey,  after  he  had  made  a 
public  address,  as  he  was  about  to  leave  the  church  he  saw  a 
lady  with  a  child  standing  in  the  aisle  as  if  waiting  to  speak 
with  him.  He  learned  that  the  little  girl  had  begged  her 
mother  to  stay  with  her,  as  she  wished  to  speak  to  Dr.  Good- 
ell,  and  ask  him  a  question.  As  he  was  passing  down  the 
aisle  the  little  girl  stepped  up  to  him  and  said,  "  Have  you 
ever  seen  the  Lord  Jesus  ?  "  He  replied  "  No,"  and  added 
that  he  expected  one  day  to  see  Him  in  all  His  glory.  The 
child  seemed  disappointed,  and  said,  "  You  spoke  about  Him 
just  as  if  you  knew  Him  well,"  and  added,  that  as  he  had  been 
where  the  Saviour  once  lived,  she  thought  he  must  have  seen 
Him.  This  impression  a  child  would  naturally  receive  from 
his  conversation  and  address,  which  were  those  of  one  who 
lived  and  walked  with  Jesus. 

An  incident  somewhat  in  contrast  with  the  above  occurred 
about  the  same  time,  as  he  was  addressing  a  Sabbath  school 
in  one  of  the  churches  of  New  York  City.  With  his  venera 
ble  form  and  snow-white  beard,  and  with  his  kindly  beaming 
face,  he  seemed  the  very  impersonation  of  good-will  to  the 
children  to  whom  he  was  speaking  words  of  loving  instruc 
tion.  A  little  girl  in  the  school  was  so  much  struck  with  his 
appearance  that  she  turned  and  whispered  eagerly  to  her 
teacher,  "  Is  that  Santa  Glaus  ? "  the  resemblance  perhaps 
being  heightened  in  her  estimation  by  the  black  velvet  cap, 
with  the  Arabic  inscription,  which  he  always  wore  in 
public. 

At  various  places  in  Western  New  York  he  preached  and 
addressed  congregations  on  the  Sabbath  and  during  the  week. 


464          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

He  spent  several  days  most  delightfully  at  Palmyra,  with  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Eatoii  and  family,  whose  church  was  a  school  and 
a  home  for  missionaries,  several  of  its  members  having  been 
trained  up  for  service  in  the  East.  At  this  place  he  spent  an 
afternoon  with  the  family  of  Mr.  Beckwith,  with  whom  he 
had  sojourned  forty-six  years  before,  when  he  visited  Canan- 
daigua  as  an  agent  for  the  Board,  just  after  leaving  the 
Theological  Seminary. 

From  New  York  he  went  into  New  England,  to  comply 
with  numerous  invitations  he  had  received.  He  was  several 
days  with  missionary  friends  at  Sturbridge,  Mass.,  where  he 
preached  on  Sabbath  morning,  and  made  an  address  on  mis 
sions  in  the  evening.  Early  on  Monday  morning  he  left 
Sturbridge  to  attend  the  Commencement  exercises  at  Ando- 
ver  Theological  Seminary. 

He  enjoyed  a  festival  in  meeting  with  beloved  friends  at 
Andover,  a  place  made  sacred  by  the  scenes  of  his  early  life 
and  of  his  consecration  to  the  service  of  Christ.  Of  this,  and 
many  similar  occasions  in  his  summer's  journeyings  and  so- 
journings,  he  remarked  that  he  met  with  so  many  good  peo 
ple,  and  had  with  them  so  much  sweet  communion,  it  seemed 
to  him  like  a  foretaste  of  the  society  of  heaven.  He  made 
one  more  pilgrimage  to  his  native  town,  and  sought  out  once 
more  "  the  old  place  where  my  father  prayed  and  gave  us  all 
to  God ; "  and  after  visiting  Amherst,  where  he  addressed  the 
students  of  the  college,  he  was  privileged  to  attend  another 
meeting  of  the  American  Board  at  Pittsfield,  the  last  that 
was  held  while  he  was  an  inhabitant  of  earth. 

He  reached  his  home  at  Philadelphia  on  the  loth  of 
October,  having  been  absent  about  five  months,  during  which 
he  had  preached  every  Sabbath  but  one,  and  had  made  pub 
lic  addresses  nearly  every  day  in  the  week. 

He  soon  commenced,  in  compliance  with  the  oft-repeated 
request  of  his  children,  to  write  out  for  them  the  reminis 
cences  of  his  life.  He  had  always  declined  doing  so  on 
account  of  his  unwillingness  to  speak  or  write  of  himself,  but 


HIS   LAST   SABBATH.  465 

as  soon  as  he  entered  upon  the  work,  he  became  deeply  in 
terested  in  the  review  of  his  life,  and  in  making  the  record. 
As  he  walked  the  floor  of  his  room  dictating  to  his  youngest 
daughter,  who  for  years  had  been  his  amanuensis,  the  events 
of  his  early  life  came  back  to  him  with  such  freshness  that 
he  seemed  literally  to  be  living  his  life  over  again ;  and  as 
one  scene  after  another  rose  up  vividly  before  him,  he  in 
dulged  freely  by  turns  in  laughter  and  in  tears.  These 
reminiscences,  as  far  as  he  was  spared  to  complete  them,  form 
the  earlier  pages  of  this  volume. 

On  Saturday  evening,  Feb.  16,  1867,  he  finished  the  let 
ter  giving  an  account  of  "  How  he  found  a  wife,"  which  he 
closed  by  commending  the  beloved  companion  of  his  youth 
and  of  his  old  age  to  his  children,  as  worthy  of  all  the  love 
and  trust  he  had  reposed  in  her.  The  next  day  he  was  ap 
parently  in  perfect  health.  He  attended  the  morning  ser 
vice  in  the  church,  and  in  the  afternoon  was  at  the  Sabbath 
school.  He  remained  longer  than  usual  with  his  Bible  class, 
to  arrange  with  them  for  the  support  of  one  of  two  young 
men  at  Robert  College,  Constantinople,  for  whom  he  had 
engaged  to  provide.  On  returning  home,  though  much 
wearied,  he  said  to  Mrs.  Goodell,  "  I  am  so  happy ;  I  think 
I  shall  get  one  of  these  boys  started  in  his  education,  and  if 
one  is  provided  for,  I  am  sure  God  will  raise  up  means  for 
the  other."  Then  folding  his  hands  upon  his  breast,  as  was 
his  wont,  and  seated  in  his  chair,  he  fell  asleep. 

In  the  evening  he  joined  the  family  in  their  worship,  ask 
ing  them  to  sing  his  favorite  hymn,  "  Come  to  Jesus,  just 
now,"  which  he  had  been  delighted  to  hear  and  to  sing  every 
day  for  years.  In  his  prayer  he  mentioned  every  one  of  his 
children  by  name,  asking  God  to  bless  each  one  with  the 
blessing  most  needed.  He  prayed  for  his  "  Eastern  and 
Western  "  friends,  that  God  would  "  remember  them  all,  and 
reward  them  for  all  their  love  and  kindness."  He  listened 
then  to  the  reading  of  a  sermon  on  the  prophecies,  in  which 
he  was  greatly  interested ;  and,  after  some  social  conversa- 
20*  DD 


466          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

tion,  retired,  apparently  as  well  as  usual,  bidding  each  one  of 
the  family  a  cheerful  "  Good-night." 

About  midnight  he  had  a  violent  attack,  apparently  cf  a 
bilious  character,  attended  with  difficulty  in  breathing.  He 
suffered  much  during  the  night,  but  the  next  morning  he 
rose,  dressed  himself  as  usual,  though  he  did  not  leave  his 
room.  All  day  he  was  in  much  bodily  distress.  He  re 
peatedly  said,  "  I  never  was  so  ill  in  all  my  life  before."  In 
the  afternoon  a  birth-day  letter  came  from  his  daughter  Isa 
bella,  which,  at  his  request,  was  read  to  him  a  second  time. 
An  expression  in  the  letter  of  thankfulness  that  his  life  had 
been  spared  so  long  to  his  children,  and  the  wish  that  he 
might  yet  have  many  happy  years  to  come,  called  forth  a 
smile  of  pleasure  in  the  midst  of  his  distress.  In  the  course 
of  the  day  he  received  a  note  with  a  gift  from  a  beloved 
friend  in  Newburyport,  Mass.  The  note  was  dated  on  his 
birth-day,  February  14  (St.  Valentine's  day).  He  dictated 
a  few  words  of  reply,  in  his  own  playful  style,  saying,  he 
had  scarcely  expected  to  receive  a  valentine,  but  as  it  was 
sent  on  the  seventy-fifth  anniversary  of  his  entrance  into  the 
world,  he  should  receive  it  as  a  birth-day  gift ;  and  added, 
that  the  day  had  been  so  peaceful  and  happy,  it  was  with  him 
"  one  continued  psalm  of  thanksgiving." 

About  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  he  was  undressed,  and 
lay  upon  a  couch,  quite  free  from  pain.  He  sent  word  to  one 
of  the  members  of  the  church  that  he  should  not  be  able  to 
attend  the  meeting  of  the  teachers  of  the  Sunday  school  in 
the  evening,  and  asked  them  to  remember  him  in  their  pray 
ers.  He  then  fell  asleep ;  but  presently  awoke  in  a  restless 
state,  and  exclaimed,  "  I  am  so  tired."  In  a  few  minutes  it 
was  evident  that  his  hour  for  entering  into  eternal  rest  had 
come ;  and,  before  the  family  could  all  be  gathered  around 
his  couch,  he  had  gone  up  to  continue  the  thanksgiving  song, 
with  the  multitude  around  the  throne,  "  redeemed  out  of 
every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation." 

The  funeral  services  were  attended  at  the  Central  Con- 


HIS   DEATH.  467 

gregational  Church,  with  which  Dr.  Goodell  was  connected. 
They  were  conducted  by  the  pastor,  Rev.  Edward  Hawes, 
assisted  by  the  Rev.  E.  R.  Beadle,  D.D.,  pastor  of  the  Second 
Presbyterian  Church,  Philadelphia,  and  formerly  a  mission 
ary  of  the  American  Board  to  Syria  ;  and  by  Rev.  George 
W.  Wood,  D.D.,  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  Board,  who 
had  been  associated  with  Dr.  Goodell  as  a  missionary  at 
Constantinople. 

His  dust  now  sleeps  in  the  Woodlands  Cemetery,  West 
Philadelphia. 

Mrs.  Goodell,  the  loving  and  faithful  companion  of  his 
entire  ministerial  and  missionary  life,  who  had  shared  in  all 
his  toils  and  trials,  who  had  been  with  him  in  all  his  perils, 
who  had  accompanied  him  in  his  journeys  by  land  and  by  sea, 
and  who  had  lived  to  return  with  him  to  their  native  land, 
and  now  to  see  him  depart  to  "  a  better  country,  even  an 
heavenly,"  was  to  tarry  a  little  longer  before  being  permitted 
to  join  him  in  the  mansions  above. 

She  continued  to  reside  with  her  son,  Dr.  William  Goodell, 
in  Philadelphia,  until  the  summer  of  1871,  when,  in  the 
seventy-second  year  of  her  age,  the  summons  came  for  which 
she  had  been  hopefully  waiting.  During  her  last  illness, 
which,  though  short,  was  severe,  she  spoke  freely  of  her 
departure ;  and  even  before  it  was  thought  by  others  that 
her  end  was  near,  she  said,  that,  while  she  was  in  possession 
of  all  her  faculties,  and  was  able  to  express  her  thoughts,  she 
wished  to  say  that  she  was  very  happy  in  the  thought  of 
dying.  Her  trust  in  the  Redeemer  and  her  peace  of  mind 
were  unbroken  to  the  last. 

The  day  before  she  became  unconscious  she  was  per 
mitted  to  embrace  once  more  her  son  and  daughter,  the 
Rev.  Herman  N.  Barnum,  D.D.,  and  wife,  with  their  chil 
dren,  who  had  returned  to  this  country  for  a  brief  season 
from  their  mission  work  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates.  Her 
last  prayer  was  now  granted,  her  last  desire  fulfilled,  her 
work  on  earth  was  all  done ;  and  early  on  the  morning  of  the 


468          FORTY   YEARS  IN   THE  TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

llth  of  July,  from  the  same  chamber  from  which  the  spirit 
of  her  beloved  husband  had  ascended  to  heaven,  from  which, 
on  the  7th  of  March,  1870,  her  daughter  Isabella  had  gone 
up  to  meet  him,  she,  too,  went  up  to  join  her  beloved,  and  to 
meet,  in  the  home  of  their  Father,  the  many  from  the  lands 
of  the  East  whom  they  had  been  instrumental  in  turning  to 
righteousness. 


TRIBUTES  TO   HIS  MEMORY.  469 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE  concluding  chapter  of  these  Memoirs  of  Dr.  Goodell 
is  devoted  to  tributes  to  his  memory  from  some  of  his 
early  and  life-long  associates  in  the  missionary  work.  The 
first  is  from  the  pen  of  Rev.  Isaac  Bird,  with  whom  he 
sailed,  in  1822,  for  their  common  field  of  labor  in  the  East. 
Mr.  Bird  still  survives,  enjoying  a  green  old  age,  at  Great 
Barrington,  Mass.,  in  the  home  of  his  son,  Mr.  James  Bird, 
who  married  the  eldest  daughter  of  Dr.  Goodell. 

The  writer  of  the  following  brief  sketch  had  the  privilege  of 
being  a  classmate  and  intimate  companion  of  William  Goodell 
during  the  three  years  of  his  theological  studies,  and  also  of 
being  his  associate  missionary  for  seven  years  in  Malta  and 
Syria,  as  well  as  his  familiar  correspondent  to  the  time  of  his 
decease.  Precious  is  the  memory  of  the  many  seasons  in  which 
we  took  sweet  counsel  together  and  walked  to  the  house  of 
God  in  company.  Precious  the  seasons  in  which  our  united 
households  knelt  at  the  domestic  altar,  and  the  years  during 
which  our  hearts  shared  the  same  joys  or  sorrows,  according  to 
our  successes  or  disappointments  in  our  mission  work. 

The  life  of  our  brother  was  remarkably  uniform  and  consistent. 
As  teady  as  the  needle  to  the  pole,  so  steadily  his  eye  seemed 
fixed  on  what,  in  childhood,  his  catechism  had  taught  him  to 
consider  "  the  chief  end  of  man."  A  model  of  industry,  he  was 
always  busy  about  something,  but  having  about  as  much  anx 
iety  for  the  morrow,  concerning  what  he  should  eat  or  what  he 
should  drink,  or  wherewithal  he  should  be  clothed,  as  have  the 
fowls  of  the  air  or  the  lilies  of  the  field.  After  entering  on  his 
course  of  education,  his  whole  time  was  scrupulously  occupied 
either  in  intense  application  to  study,  or  in  unbending  his  mind 
by  a  walk,  or  in  conversation,  or  in  familiar  correspondence  with 
his  friends.  He  had  by  nature  a  slender  constitution,  unable 
to  endure  long-continued  muscular  or  mental  exertion,  or  long- 
continued  confinement  in  one  place,  but,  by  a  wise  apportion 
ment  of  work  and  respite,  his  health  and  usefulness  went  on 


470          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

together.  He  had  no  general  prostrations  to  complain  of,  never 
longed  for  the  relief  of  a  vacation,  never  petitioned  for  a  fur 
lough  from  duty.  While  others  were  enjoying  rides  over  the 
country,  or  resorting  to  hunting  or  fishing  excursions,  he  was 
teaching  school,  or  aiding  some  church  by  holding  religious 
meetings  and  making  religious  visits  from  house  to  house. 

His  desire,  as  much  as  in  him  lay  to  live  peaceably  with  all 
men,  led  him,  without  a  word,  to  yield  his  position  to  any  one 
•who  he  thought  had  a  higher  claim,  and  where  this  was  not  the 
case  he  would  yield,  rather  than  maintain  any  dispute.  If  he 
had  grieved  any  one  in  regard  to  a  difference  of  opinion,  or  some 
plan  of  proceeding,  and  afterwards  discovered  that  he  had  been 
wrong,  he  would  confess  the  error  though  long  after  the  other 
party  had  forgotten  it.  Letting  alone  contention  "  before  it  be 
meddled  with  "  was  one  of  his  golden  pies,  and  not  only  did 
he  most  studiously  avoid  any  breach  of  it  himself,  but  it  stung 
him  to  the  heart  to  see  it  broken  by  any  of  his  Christian  brethren. 
In  the  dining-hall  at  the  Theological  Seminary  one  day,  a 
student  sitting  near  him  was  engaged  in  the  discussion  of  some 
exciting  topic,  and,  excited  by  the  remarks  of  his  antagonist, 
broke  out  in  a  passion,  using  violent  language.  Goodell  was 
electrified.  With  an  earnest  look,  and  a  countenance  full  of 
astonishment,  he  said:  "Brother  D.,  that's  wicked.  You 
mustn't  let  the  sun  go  down." 

He  cherished  bright  hopes  and  large  expectations.  Those  who 
have  been  familiar  with  the  style  of  his  mission  journals  and 
letters  will  remember  how  sanguine  and  inspiring  were  his  an 
ticipations.  He  was  watching  for  the  morning,  and  when  the 
first  dawn  appeared  he  hasted  to  arouse  his  brethren,  that  they 
might  be  partakers  of  his  joy.  The  day  may  have  lingered 
somewhat  beyond  his  first  expectations,  but  he  lived  to  see  it 
shine  brightly  over  the  whole  field  of  his  labors. 

He  was  a  man  of  courage  as  well  as  a  man  of  peace.  He  was 
surrounded  by  bigoted  and  fanatical  Moslems  and  papists,  ex 
posed  to  the  decisions  of  unjust  judges  and  the  slanders  of  the 
highest  ecclesiastics'.  Petty  persecutions  and  threats  of  the 
most  violent  kind  were  used  to  intimidate  him,  so  that,  in  review 
ing  some  of  the  scenes  through  which  he  passed  in  Syria,  he 
said  he  had  often  wished  for  some  Obadiah  to  take  and  hide  him 
in  a  cave  till  the  impending  indignation  should  be  overpast. 
Yet  when  the  calamity  was  actually  upon  him  he  proved  himself 
fully  equal  to  the  occasion.  Once  when  debarred  from  his  fam 
ily  for  a  time,  he  continued  to  visit  them  in  spite  of  the  prohibi 
tion.  When  Greek  pirates  came  and  attacked  Beyrout  by  land 
and  by  sea,  he  went  forth  with  his  pockets  full  of  tracts  and 
distributed  them  among  them.  When  his  house  wafc  assailed 
by  a  band  of  wild  Arabs,  some  of  whom  were  battering  down 
his  door,  and  others  pointing  their  muskets  at  his  head,  he  stood 
in  his  window  expostulating  with  them,  and  warning  them  not 


MR.    BIRD'S   TRIBUTE.  471 

to  offend  the  great  God  and  the  Snltan.  And  when  they  rushed 
up  to  his  chambers  he  withstood  them,  and  as  they  were  bear 
ing  off  his  goods  snatched  them  out  of  their  hands. 

In  his  living  he  vra&  frugal,  in  all  his  expenses  strictly  econom 
ical,  and  in  his  accounts  very  exact.  The  money  he  lived  on 
was  the  Lord's  ;  he  had  no  right  to  any  of  it  but  what  was  neces 
sary  to  do  the  Lord's  work.  On  leaving  home  he  was  expecting 
to  be  stationed  at  Jerusalem :  he  arrived  in  Syria,  and  was  there 
stopped  on  his  way;  he  was  disappointed;  his  soul  would  have 
felt  as  pure  and  thrilling  a  delight  in  visiting  the  Holy  City  as 
other  men  who  go  thousands  of  miles  to  visit  it.  A  very  few 
dollars  would  have  enabled  him  to  go  there,  and  yet  he  lived  five 
years  in  Syria  and  never  went.  He  did  not  dare,  he  said,  for 
his  own  pleasure,  to  spend  so  much  of  the  Lord's  money.  The 
Treasurer's  books  will  probably  show  that,  at  least  during  his 
residence  in  Syria,  he  never  received  for  his  own  use  the  whole 
amount  of  his  small  nominal  salary. 

Dr.  Goodell  was  celebrated  for  his  promptness  and  punctuality. 
His  domestic  cares  had  their  appointed  hours,  and,  unless  from 
some  special  preventive,  were  attended  to  in  their  time.  He  re 
tired  and  rose  early.  His  seasons  of  devotion  had  their  appro 
priate  place,  and  any  material  delay  in  his  meals  not  only 
annoyed  him  as  a  violation  of  order,  but  sometimes  unfitted  him 
physically  for  his  duties.  At  no  business  appointment  had  his 
friends  to  wait  for  him.  He  interrupted  no  worshipping  assem 
bly  by  a  tardy  entrance.  His  debts  were  paid  ;  his  reports  to  the 
Board,  &c.,  were  uniformly  ready,  when  due. 

In  his  public  performances,  as  well  as  in  his  general  style  of 
writing,  he  was  a  pattern  of  simplicity.  His  language  was  chaste, 
his  words  common  and  well  chosen,  his  sentences  short,  his  aim 
evidently  being  first  of  all  to  be  understood.  In  speaking,  his 
utterance  was  very  uniform,  but  prevented  from  being  tediously 
monotonous  by  the  frequent  emphatic  force  with  which  he 
brought  out  many  of  his  short  phrases.  He  had  in  his  delivery 
no  excessive  emotion,  no  transports  of  enthusiasm,  but  an  ap 
pearance  of  sober,  undoubted  conviction  of  the  truth  of  what  he 
uttered,  and  the  presumption  that  the  truth  would  force  its  own 
way  to  the  heart,  without  power  of  voice,  or  vehemence  of  gest 
ure.  Yet  in  his  younger  days,  when  an  important  thought  was 
to  be  uttered,  he  would  straighten  up,  set  his  eye  steadfastly 
upon  the  audience,  and  with  quivering  lip  throw  forth  the  sen 
timent  with  marked  effect.  In  prayer  he  spoke  in  much  the  same 
voice  and  manner  as  in  his  preaching.  He  was  never  pathetic, 
but  conversed  with  the  Deity  in  calm,  deliberate,  familiar, 
though  solemn  language,  using  frequent  Scriptural  quotations 
and  allusions,  and  not  uncommonly  introducing  the  names  of 
persons  and  places  prayed  for. 

He  had  a  large  share  of  one  of  Paul's  peculiar  qualifications 
for  a  bishop,  — he  was  apt  to  teach.  Giving  instruction  was  an 


472  FORTY    YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

employment  which  to  him  brought  its  own  reward.  He  was 
"  apt  "  in  it  because  he  loved  it.  It  was  doubtless  his  pleasure 
in  this  employment  that  made  him  so  popular  and  influential  in 
his  early  schools.  On  reaching  his  mission  station  in  the  East, 
he  could  not  wait  for  the  slow  process  of  acquiring  the  language 
of  the  natives,  but  made  use  of  the  few  first  words  he  could  learn, 
and  then  went  on  to  speak  and  learn,  until  in  a  short  time  he 
was  able  to  bear  an  intelligent  part  in  familiar  conversation.  He 
learned  portions  of  Scripture,  and  when  visitors  called,  from 
curiosity  or  otherwise,  he  took  occasion  to  read  to  them  the  Ten 
Commandments  or  the  Lord's  Prayer.  Next  he  made  little  ad 
dresses  to  the  children  in  the  mission  school,  and  from  this  began 
to  preach  short  expository  sermons  to  a  group  of  beggars,  to 
whom,  in  imitation  of  his  Master,  he  dispensed  both  the  living 
and  the  perishable  bread.  If  what  he  said  to  them  was  under 
stood,  it  was  well;  if  there  were  parts  that  were  not  understood, 
it  was  well,  so  far  as  he  was  concerned.  At  his  evening  family 
devotions  he  instituted  the  custom  of  reading  a  chapter  of  the 
New  Testament  in  Arabic,  assisted  by  his  two  Armenian  teach 
ers  and  others,  he  himself  giving  a  prepared  commentary  on  the 
whole.  It  is  probable  that  by  this  exercise,  rather  than  by  any 
other  human  instrumentality^  both  these  eminent  teachers  were 
brought  to  a  saving  knowledge  of  the  truth.  To  how  many 
other  persons  at  home  and  abroad  he  was  made  the  spiritual 
father,  must  be  left  for  another  world  to  reveal;  but  we  may  be 
very  sure  that  no  man  can  go  through  this  world  preaching  as 
he  preached  and  living  as  he  lived,  without  being  instrumental 
in  turning  a  no  small  number  from  the  error  of  their  ways  unto 
God. 

His  life  was  as  happy  as  it  was  useful.  He  set  out  early  in 
his  Christian  course  by  a  whole  surrender  of  himself  to  his 
Divine  Master;  and  the  Master  in  His  good  providence  ap 
pointed  for  him  a  service  quite  congenial  to  his  taste.  Of  Paul, 
the  persecutor  and  murderer,  it  was  not  unfitly  announced,  "  I 
will  show  him  how  great  things  he  must  suffer  for  my  sake." 
But  of  this  man  we  may  say,  as  David  sang,  "  Thou  hast  given 
him  his  heart's  desire,  and  hast  not  withholden  the  request  of 
his  lips."  He  desired  to  be  a  missionary,  and  his  request  was 
granted  ;  he  reached  his  foreign  destination,  and  it  fell  to  his 
lot  there  to  do  the  very  kind  of  work  he  would  have  chosen. 
Instead  of  constant  travel  by  sea  and  land,  having  no  certain 
dwelling-place,  and  having  the  Spirit's  witness,  in  every  city, 
saying  that  bonds  and  afflictions  awaited  him,  his  was  the  bless 
edness  of  the  man  whose  delight  was  in  the  law  of  the  Lord,  and 
whose  very  work  and  business  it  was  to  meditate  in  that  law 
day  and  night.  As  we  hold  up  this  man  of  God  for  an  example 
to  be  imitated,  it  will  be  very  natural  to  affirm  that  all  Chris 
tians,  and  all  men,  indeed,  ought  to  be  as  holy  and  heavenly- 
minded  as  he.  This  may  be  true.  But  it  is  evident  that  few 


MR.  BIRD'S  TRIBUTE.  473 

comparatively  ever  attain  that  eminence ,  and  certainly  it  must 
be  confessed  that  if  it  is  by  divine  truth  that  we  are  sanctified, 
a  man  whose  mind  has  been  a  channel  through  which  a  flood  of 
that  truth  from  the  fountain  of  God's  word  has  been  running 
for  forty  years,  must  have  a  great  advantage  over  others. 

When  Dr.  Goodell  had  finished  his  great  work  in  the  East,  — 
the  translation  and  final  revision  of  his  Turkish  Bible,  and  had 
prepared  a  volume  of  sermons  for  the  Armenian  nation,  — the 
infirmities  of  age,  which  were  seriously  increasing  upon  him,  led 
to  his  removal  from  the  field,  that  he  might  close  his  life  among 
his  children  and  among  his  American  friends.  He  could  not, 
however,  endure  the  thought  of  retiring  to  rest  in  idleness,  but 
desired  to  the  end  to  be,  in  some  humble  sphere,  busy  and  useful. 
So  we  find  him  attending  meetings  of  the  Board,  preaching 
in  the  churches,  making  addresses,  assisting  in  prayer-meet 
ings,  in  Bible  classes,  and  Sabbath  schools,  to  the  delight  and 
edification  of  the  Christian  people  among  whom  he  moved,  and 
all  this  down  to  the  last  week  of  his  life. 

Like  Enoch,  he  walked  with  God,  and  was  not,  for  God  took 
him.  The  manner  of  his  departure  was  not  like  dying,  but  sim 
ply  a  being  taken  away.  We  may  imagine  that,  when  he  closed 
his  eyes,  he  thought  himself  subsiding  into  one  of  his  daily  re 
freshing  slumbers,  and  when  the  music  of  the  heavenly  choir 
first  struck  on  his  ear,  and  when  with  all  his  new  powers  he 
joined  in  and  shouted  spontaneously  the  hallelujah  chorus,  he 
thought  himself  simply  enjoying  an  ecstatic  dream.  But  till  the 
heavens  be  no  more,  he  shall  not  awake,  nor  be  raised  out  of 
his  sleep.  He  rests  from  his  labors,  and  his  works  do  follow 
him.  The  influences  which  he  has  set  in  operation  are  follow 
ing  him  here  below,  working  to  complete  the  holy  purpose  he 
had  in  view.  The  truth  he  preached,  and  his  hallowed  example, 
are  stamped  indelibly  on  the  hearts  of  many  who  are  now  fol 
lowing  him  as  he  followed  Christ.  The  volumes  of  his  writings, 
especially  the  book  of  God  wrhich  he  has  given  to  an  enterpris 
ing  nation,  are  now  preaching  to  hundreds  where  he  preached 
to  one. 

The  following  recollections  of  Dr.  Goodell  are  furnished 
by  the  Rev.  Cyrus  Hamlin,  D.D.,  long  his  associate  in  the 
mission,  and  now  the  President  of  Robert  College  at  Con 
stantinople  :  — 

On  the  morning  of  Feb.  3,  1839,  I  entered,  with  my 
youthful  wife,  the  hospitable  dwelling  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Goodell, 
on  the  heights  of  Pera,  and  looked  out  with  enraptured  eye 
upon  the  Golden  Horn,  the  Turkish  fleet,  containing  still  some 
of  the  huge  hulks  which  got  away  from  Navarino,  but  above  all 
upon  the  glorious  city  crowned  with  its  domed  and  minareted 


474  FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

mosques.  We  were  to  hold  with  that  beloved  and  honored 
missionary  family  twenty-five  years  of  uninterrupted  Christian 
intercourse  and  sympathy  of  the  closest  nature.  While  it  was 
a  family  of  that  harmonious  structure  that  constitutes  a  unit, 
I  am  to  speak  only  of  its  always  beloved  and  lamented  head. 

One  of  my  first  impressions  of  Dr.  Goodell  was  that  he  was 
a  thorough  New  Englander,  a  true-born  Yankee.  The  impression 
was  doubtless  true,  or  had  a  truth  in  it,  yet  it  were  easier  to 
argue  in  the  negative  than  affirmative.  Instead  of  any  apparent 
shrewdness,  he  had  great  apparent  openness  and  simplicity. 
Instead  of  reserve  and  scrutiny,  he  had  mirthf ulness,  wit,  humor, 
and  a  contagious  laugh.  Instead  of  mechanical  craft  and  skill, 
so  common  to  New  England,  he  "could  never  make  a  cider- 
top  that  would  hold!" 

But  he  had  substantially  Puritan  theology,  Puritan  saintli- 
ness,  and  Puritan  patriotism.  He  had  them,  however,  in  his  own 
way.  His  saintliness  was  adorned  by  the  most  sparkling  cheer 
fulness.  Divine  truth  was  taught,  not  after  the  manner  of 
Hopkins  or  Emmons,  but  just  as  the  great  Master  himself 
taught  it,  with  clear  and  simple  illustrations  for  edification.  He 
had  a  steady,  fervent,  and  pure  patriotism.  He  always  prayed 
for  his  native  land,  for  its  material,  civil,  and  religious  interests. 
He  rejoiced  to  have  sons  to  take  part  in  the  great  contest  for 
freedom.  Still,  he  was  a  cosmopolitan.  He  never  forgot  to 
pray  for  England,  Turkey,  China,  Japan.  Queen  Victoria  has 
few  subjects  who  have  prayed  for  her  more  constantly,  devoutly, 
sincerely.  He  prayed  for  the  Sultan  with  unwavering  faith, 
that  God  could  control  ail  his  counsels  and  purposes  for  His  own 
glory  and  the  accomplishment  of  His  eternal  designs.  The  year 
1831)  was  a  dark  and  trying  one  at  Constantinople.  Some  of 
the  missionaries  were  in  other  portions  of  the  field,  at  a  great 
distance.  Those  native  brethren  who  had  openly  given  their 
testimony  for  Christ  and  His  Gospel  were  in  prison  or  exile. 
The  Sultan  demanded  of  our  minister  resident  the  expulsion 
of  all  the  missionaries.  No  one  could  salute  us  in  the  streets 
without  exposing  himself  to  the  then  terrible  anathema  which 
was  the  judgment  of  God  upon  the  soul,  —  conflagrations,  the 
Egyptian  rebellion,  the  treason  of  the  Capudan  Pasha  with  the 
whole  fleet,  repeated  reports  of  the  plague  breaking  out  here 
and  there,  the  apparent  cessation  of  the  missionary  work,  all 
made  the  year  a  memorably  sombre  one.  But  Goodell's  cheer 
fulness  held  its  position  against  all  these  assaults.  He  believed 
it  would  all  work  together  for  good,  as  it  manifestly  did. 
There  was  no  darkness  nor  weakness  nor  confusion  in  the  gov 
ernment  and  plans  of  God,  and  therefore  he  held  on  the  even 
tenor  of  his  way,  praying  always  with  all  prayer  and  supplication 
in  the  spirit,  and  watching  thereunto. 

In  all  these  difficult  times  Dr.  Goodell  was  wise  in  counsel. 
He  had  a  certain  quick  intuitive  sagacity  of  judgment,  with  the 


DR.  HAMLIN'S  TRIBUTE.  475 

least  possible  formality  about  it.  After  others  had  expressed 
their  views,  he  would  often  make  a  suggestion,  in  form  a  mere 
suggestion,  and  yet  it  would  hit  the  nail  so  fairly  on  the  head 
as  to  drive  it  home  at  a  single  blow.  The  circumstances  of  his 
life  called  forth  this  quality.  Himself  the  ardent  lover  of  peace, 
with  a  smile  and  a  blessing  for  all,  he  lived  in  turbulent  times, 
amid  pestilences,  persecutions,  and  revolutions.  In  Beyrout, 
his  house  was  attacked  and  plundered  by  the  Arabs.  In  Con 
stantinople,  violent  persecutions  frequently  scattered  to  exile  or 
imprisonment  those  who  had  begun  to  feel  after  the  light  and 
liberty  of  the  Gospel.  The  machinations  of  a  crafty,  numerous, 
and  powerful  enemy  must  be  met,  and  his  plans  thwarted. 
Often  an  innocent  man  would  be  accused  of  some  abominable 
or  shameful  crime,  and  abandonment  of  the  Gospel  offered  as 
the  only  condition  of  deliverance.  To  unmask  the  hypocrisy, 
to  thwart  the  crafty  and  unscrupulous  iniquity,  to  meet  the 
enemy  with  weapons  of  the  right  temper,  often  called  for  all  the 
wisdom,  firmness,  sagacity,  and  judgment  of  the  missionaries. 
In  these  exigencies  and  perplexities  Dr.  Goodell's  judgment  was 
often  like  that  of  James',  to  which  all  the  apostles  and  the  whole 
church  gave  immediate  assent.  But  it  would  be  expressed  in  the 
fewest  possible  words,  without  any  argument  to  support  it.  It 
would  often  come  in  a  way  and  manner  that  required  none. 
It  was  an  intuition,  an  insight,  a  flash  of  light,  that  revealed  the 
whole  object  towards  which  we  were  earnestly  gazing  in  the 
dimness. 

Dr.  Goodell's  wit  and  humor  and  mirthfulness  may  have 
sometimes  appeared  in  excess  to  a  casual  observer,  not  to  those 
who  knew  him  best.  It  was  natural  to  him.  He  saw  with  a 
quick  eye  and  a  ready  sensibility  all  the  humorous  things  of  life 
and  of  human  character.  Nothing  escaped  his  notice,  and  no 
sooner  did  a  fit  object  present  itself  than  his  shaft  struck  it. 

He  taught  his  brethren  and  all  around  him  how  to  pray. 
This  came  in  the  way  of  his  work,  duty,  life,  position.  But,  what 
was  in  some  respects  far  more  difficult,  he  taught  them  how  to 
laugh.  Who  that  remembers  him  will  ever  forget  his  laugh? 
Who  that  knew  him  ever  refused  to  join  it?  He  laughed  heartily, 
honestly,  truthfully,  merrily,  just  as  he  felt  at  the  moment. 
But  he  never  pursued  it.  He  never  pushed  it.  His  mirth  left 
not  a  trace  in  his  spirit.  It  was  like  a  flitting  summer  cloud, 
whose  shadow  adorns,  not  obscures,  the  landscape  over  which 
it  flits.  The  sunshine  seems  all  the  purer  and  nature  all  the 
lovelier  for  these  passing  shadows.  So  were  Goodell's  wit  and 
mirth.  They  left  the  soul  in  the  sunshine  of  God's  love,  and  in 
perfect  sympathy  with  holy  themes,  quite  ready  to  enter  with 
uncovered  head  the  holy  of  holies.  One  is  often  reminded  of 
father  Temple's  reproof,  "  Brother  Goodell,  do  you  expect  to 
enter  heaven  laughing?  "  "I  don't  expect  to  go  there  crying," 
was  the  quick  reply. 


476  FORTY    YEARS   IN    THE   TURKISH   EMPIRE. 

Another  beautiful  trait  of  Dr.  Goodell's  character  was  his 
power  as  a  bond  of  peace  and  harmony.  His  cheerful  piety,  his 
supreme  devotion  to  his  Master's  cause,  his  quick  sympathy 
with  all  who  were  visited  by  any  trial  whatever,  his  unselfish 
ness,  his  love  of  all  social  enjoyments,  his  entering  with  all  his 
soul  into  every  one's  amusements,  playing  marbles  or  blind- 
man's  buff  with  all  the  zest  of  boyhood,  — these,  in  symmetrical 
combination,  made  him  the  natural  centre  of  social  life.  He 
penetrated  it  with  his  own  spirit.  He  held  it  together,  and 
made  all  the  missionary  families  like  one  family. 

When  I  first  knew  him,  in  1839,  he  seemed  to  me  to  have  a 
feeble  constitution,  and  to  have  done  already  his  missionary 
work.  And  yet  he  continued  to  labor  for  more  than  twenty 
years  with  unfailing  diligence.  This  was  due  in  part  to  his 
perfect  regularity  of  life.  He  had  a  time  for  every  thing,  and 
every  thing  in  its  time.  This  is  the  way  to  make  the  most  of 
life.  But,  more  than  this,  he  had  a  rare  wisdom  to  know  and 
grace  to  do  just  what  he  was  able  to  do,  and  then  stop.  He 
had  not  a  particle  of  that  indolence  that  would  make  him  stop 
short  of  that  point,  and  conscience  and  judgment  would  not  let 
him  go  beyond.  How  many  missionaries  have  cut  short  their 
days  for  the  want  of  this  wisdom  and  grace ! 

The  best  comment  upon  his  character  was  the  universal  re 
spect,  affection,  regret,  grief,  expressed  by  so  many  of  different 
races  and  religions  at  his  departure.  His  memory  is  embalmed 
in  all  our  hearts.  We  shall  not  look  upon  his  like  again,  nor 
will  the  millennium  bring  together  a  more  charming  circle  of 
Christian  friends  than  that  over  which  he  presided  before  his 
eye  was  dimmed  or  his  natural  force  abated. 

When  the  tidings  of  the  death  of  Dr.  Goodell  reached 
Constantinople,  the  Rev.  William  G.  Schauffler,  D.D.  (who 
had  joined  the  mission  the  year  following  the  arrival  of 
the  subject  of  these  Memoirs),  preached  to  the  American  and 
English  residents  a  commemorative  discourse,  of  which  the 
following  is  an  extract :  — 

By  far  the  greater  part  of  the  missionary  life  of  our  friend 
was" spent  at  Constantinople.  After  his  flight  from  Syria  to 
Malta  he  began  at  that  island  the  great  work  of  his  life,  — the 
translation  of  the  Bible  into  Armeno-Turkish  ;  and  there  he 
translated  into  the  same  dialect  "  The  Dairyman's  Daughter," 
the  first  tract,  so  far  as  I  know,  ever  printed  in  that  language. 
This  tract  and  a  New  Testament  in  Armeno-Turkish,  given  away 
by  him  at  Nicomedia  in  1832,  began,  by  the  blessing  of  God, 
the  good  work  at  that  place,  and  thus  inaugurated  that  better 
day  which  was  soon  to  dawn  upon  the  spreading  realms  of  Asia 


DR.  SCHAUFFLER'S  TRIBUTE.  477 

Minor,  where  just  now  a  fresh  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  of  God 
is  enjoyed  by  our  brethren.  This,  his  great  Bible  work,  he 
continued  here,  revising  and  improving  it,  publishing  and  re- 
publishing  it  under  a  constantly  growing  demand,  to  nearly  the 
end  of  his  missionary  life.  He  left  it  behind  him,  complete 
with  references,  in  the  hands  of  about  one  and  a  half  million  of 
Armenian  people,  who  either  read  that  dialect  only,  or  who  are 
as  familiar  with  it  as  they  are  with  the  Modern  Armenian. 
This  Bible  is  the  Bible  of  all  the  revivals  and  hopeful  conversions 
among  the  Armenians  who  are  confined  to  that  language  in  Tur 
key,  and  even  in  the  Russian  and  Persian  provinces.  Together 
with  the  version  of  the  Bible  into  the  Modern  Armenian,  it  is 
the  Bible  of  the  first  native  Protestant  churches  in  all  the  East 
ern  countries  short  of  India.  ]t  is  the  Bible  under  the  influence 
of  which  the  first  Osmanlee  family  was  converted  to  God,  the 
first-fruits  of  Achaia.  And  from  this  blessed  book,  in  the  very 
element  of  which  he  spent  every  day  of  his  missionary  life,  not 
to  say  of  his  Christian  life,  there  proceeded  all  his  plain,  home- 
spoken,  practical  sermons,  in  English  and  in  Turkish.  A  volume 
of  the  latter,  and  a  farewell  letter  to  the  people  he  so  much  loved, 
were  his  last  bequest  to  them. 

His  influence  among  his  missionary  brethren  was  great  and 
good.  He  laid  the  foundation  of  the  missions  of  the  American 
Board  in  Turkey.  A  short-lived  attempt  made  at  Smyrna  under 
the  auspices  of  a  private  circle  of  Christian  people  in  America 
being  excepted,  he  was  the  first  American  missionary  who  settled 
in  Turkey,  and  this  place  was  the  first  station.  And  upon  this 
station,  and  more  or  less  upon  the  mission,  he  imprinted  his 
peculiar  character,  —  I  mean  that  of  entire  freedom  from  self- 
seeking  ambition,  spiritual  arrogance,  and  ecclesiastical  aristoc 
racy  arid  dogmatism.  He  was  the  servant  of  all,  and  he  taught 
the  rest  of  us  so  by  precept  and  example.  I  was  impressed  and 
delighted,  when,  a  year  after  him,  I  arrived  here,  to  see  how 
ready  he  was  to  let  others  do  the  most  encouraging  and  creditable 
work,  or  to  report  the  most  cheering  intelligence  to  the  Board. 
He  was  always  ready  to  be  the  last.  Free  also  from  all  sectari 
anism  and  proselytism,  properly  speaking  ;  all  the  proselyting 
he  ever  was  guilty  of  was  that  from  the  world  to  Christ,  from 
unbelief  to  faith,  from  death  to  life,  and  that  simply  by  the  word 
of  truth,  which  liveth  and  abideth  for  ever.  So  Christ  and  the 
apostles  proselyted.  Even  the  existing  native  Protestant  churches 
were  formed,  not  by  his  nor  by  our  seeking,  but  providentially 
and  necessarily  when  Bible  readers  were  excommunicated,  per 
secuted,  imprisoned,  bastinadoed,  hunted  down  by  their  own 
patriarch,  his  bishops  and  his  priests,  and  after  they  had  been 
repeatedly  refused  re-admission  into  the  church  in  which  they 
were  born,  and  which  they  solemnly  declared  they  still  loved  aa 
their  mother,  unjust  and  cruel  as  she  was. 

In  the  cultivation  of  this  unselfish,  uusectarian,  and  mutu- 


478          FORTY   YEARS   IN   THE   TURKISH    EMPIRE. 

ally  confiding  spirit,  not  this  station  only,  but  the  entire  mission, 
•was  for  many  years  so  perfectly  united  that  every  vote  was 
unanimous,  and  on  every  subject  there  existed  but  one  opinion. 
It  appeared  to  me  oftentimes  that  our  relation  as  missionaries 
and  as  Christians  was  as  perfect  as  could  be  expected  on  earth, 
and  that  if  any  worldly  or  sceptical  man  wanted  to  see  Christian 
love  and  harmony,  we  could  invite  him  to  look  into  our  inmost 
feelings  toward  each  other,  and  to  judge  for  himself.  If  human 
nature  has  since  then  occasionally  shown  its  infirmities  amongst 
us,  it  was  not  the  senior  missionary  who  set  the  example. 

As  he  was  everybody's  friend,  so  his  Christian  cheerfulness 
and  his  innocent,  artless  humor  made  everybody  his  friend,  and 
his  rare  familiarity  with  the  Bible,  the  book  of  his  heart,  and 
his  happy  and  often  novel  and  striking  quotations  from  it,  while 
they  raised  a  smile  or  drew  a  tear,  testified  to  his  thorough  in 
timacy  with  the  divine  word.  These  quotations  are,  in  fact, 
proverbial  among  his  friends,  and  will  long  continue  to  live 
among  them  in  the  form  of  pleasing  and  profitable  anecdotes. 
Thus  when  the  family  were  burnt  out  in  the  great  Pera  fire  of 
1831,  they  fled  as  they  were,  and  though  they  had  lost  every 
thing  they  had,  he  asked  for  no  special  appropriation  from  the 
Society,  but  when  the  small  number  of  their  friends  near  by, 
and  some  in  America,  sent  them  help,  he  said,  as  in  the  case  of 
Job,  all  his  brethren  and  sisters  also  came  to  him  and  bemoaned 
and  comforted  him,  and  "  every  man  also  gave  him  a  piece  of 
money  and  every  one  an  ear-ring  of  gold,"  and  ''the  Lord  blessed 
his  latter  end  more  than  his  beginning. "  When,  some  years  ago, 
I  took  leave  of  the  mission  to  engage  in  the  service  of  the  two 
great  Bible  societies,  and  expressed  to  the  assembled  mission  my 
thanks  for  their  kindness  and  the  confidence  they  had  so  long 
bestowed  upon  me,  assuring  them  of  my  abiding  interest  in  their 
work,  and  asking  the  continuance  of  their  Christian  affection 
and  fellowship,  this  was  most  affectionately  reciprocated  by 
them;  and  when  that  exchange  of  kind  feelings  was  over,  my  old 
friend,  passing  around  behind  the  assembly  to  my  side  of  the 
house,  said  to  me,  in  a  subdued  tone  of  voice,  "  The  Lord  do 
so  to  me  and  more  also  if  aught  but  death  part  thee  and  me." 
This  was  his  spirit  toward  his  friends. 

The  Bible  was  his  light,  prayer  his  rod  and  staff,  and  faith 
and  love  his  element.  L)uring  thirty-three  years  of  closest  inti 
macy  with  him  I  have  seen  him  in  various  vicissitudes  of  a 
missionary  life,  —  but  always  the  same.  We  passed  together 
through  six  annual  campaigns  of  plague,  from  1832  to  1838.  I 
saw  him  within  his  habitation  one  Saturday  night,  in  1833,  when 
the  fire  from  a  neighboring  conflagration  was  pouring  so  thick 
upon  his  roof  that  I  thought  the  house  could  not  stand  another 
hour.  The  house  was  saved,  and  the  next  morning  we  had  our 
English  service  in  it.  I  saw  him  in  the  dark  days  of  reckless 
persecution  against  the  Gospel,  and  its  followers  driven  from 


479 

their  houses,  beaten,  crushed;  I  heard  him  wrestle  for  their 
souls  and  for  their  deliverance  from  the  death-grasps  of  their 
relentless  persecutors.  Not  enough  for  him  to  kneel  down  in 
our  seasons  of  prayer,  but,  with  his  face  on  the  floor,  he  poured 
out  his  soul  and  prayed  for  those  poor  sheep  with  a  simplicity 
and  urgency  enough  to  melt  a  stone.  And  are  not  such  prayers 
heard  in  heaven? 

Sympathizing  with  others  in  their  straits,  he  was  always 
cheerful  in  his  own.  Once,  when  the  American  Board  was  in 
pecuniary  distress,  he  reduced  the  comforts  of  his  table,  which 
were  never  great,  because  he  wanted  to  sympathize  with  them 
in  their  troubles.  But  at  another  time,  when  family  trials  had 
rendered  his  salary  insufficient,  unwilling  to  ask  for  help  from 
the  Board,  which  he  could  have  had  for  the  asking,  he  quietly 
cut  off  from  his  table  the  coffee  in  the  morning  and  the  tea  in 
the  evening,  till  an  unasked-for,  unexpected,  providential  help 
from  friends  in  America  enabled  him  to  restore  thb  accustomed 
comfort  to  his  family  board. 

In  all  the  vicissitudes  of  a  missionary  life,  all  his  social 
relations,  in  his  intercourse  with  his  family  at  home  and  his 
friends  around,  lie  was  always  the  same  confiding,  contented, 
humble,  happy  C'hristian  man.  In  society,  native  or  foreign, 
high  or  low,  he  moved  with  the  same  ease,  not  from  any  finish 
of  artificial  training  in  his  youth,  but  from  the  native  soundness, 
simplicity,  modesty,  and  benevolence  of  his  heart  and  mind, 
pervaded  by  the  spirituality  of  his  inner  life,  and  guided  by  a 
peculiar  soundness  of  judgment  as  to  what  was  fitting  at  the 
place  and  in  the  society  he  was  in. 

This  remark  reminds  me  of  very  numerous  instances  in  our 
missionary  deliberations,  often  on  difficult,  responsible,  and 
complicated  subjects,  when  he  would  put  the  question  and  sug 
gest  the  right  measure,  often  with  such  clearness  as  to  secure  at 
once  the  concurrence  of  the  whole  station  or  mission ;  and  he 
did  so,  not  as  the  result  of  any  profound  or  acute  reasoning  on 
the  subject,  but  simply  as  the  verdict  of  a  judgment  thoroughly 
clear  and  sound.  I  could  mention  cases  when  in  later  days,  in 
my  judgment,  the  mission  had  reason  to  deplore  their  dissent 
from  him  in  the  measures  to  be  adopted.  But  in  these  cases 
(they  were  not  frequent)  he  invariably  submitted  to  the  majority, 
and  did  it  unhesitatingly  and  honestly. 

At  last,  the  end  of  a  well-spent  missionary  life  drew  near, 
and,  as  his  health  and  strength  were  manifestly  failing  fast,  he 
turned  his  face  toward  the  land  of  his  fathers,  but  still  more  to 
ward  "  the  land  of  pure  delight,  where  saints  immortal  reign." 
Not  Boston,  not  New  York,  not  Philadelphia,  but  the  New 
Jerusalem,  was  the  city  he  sought,  and  now  has  found. 


APPENDIX. 


THE  compiler  of  these  Memoirs,  while  engaged  in  their  prep-, 
aration,  furnished  for  the  "Princeton  Review"  (October,  1875) 
a  historical  sketch  of  the  action  of  the  Turkish  government  on 
the  subject  of  "  Civil  and  Religious  Liberty  "  during  the  pres 
ent  century.  The  official  documents,  which  were  gathered  from 
various  sources,  are  transferred  to  these  pages,  as  having  special 
interest  in  connection  with  the  subject  of  this  volume.  It  is 
believed  that  they  are  not  elsewhere  accessible  in  this  complete 
and  continuous  form.  They  were  all  issued  during  the  resi 
dence  of  Dr.  Goodell  at  Constantinople.  The  first  document, 
the  history  of  which  is  given  at  page  240  of  the  Memoirs,  is 
the  Hatti  Sherif  of  Gul  Hane,  issued  by  the  Sultan,  Abdul 
Medjid,  Nov.  3,  1839. 

HATTI  SHERIF  OF  GUL  HANE. 

It  is  well  known  that,  during  the  early  ages  of  the  Ottoman  Monarchy, 
the  glorious  precepts  of  the  Koran  and  the  laws  of  the  Empire  were  ever 
held  in  honor.  In  consequence  of  this  the  Empire  increased  in  sti'ength  and 
greatness,  and  all  the  population,  without  exception,  acquired  a  high  degree 
of  welfare  and  prosperity. 

For  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  a  succession  of  incidents  and  various 
causes  has  checked  this  obedience  to  the  sacred  code  of  the  law,  and  to  the 
regulations  which  emanate  from  it,  and  the  previous  internal  strength  and 
prosperity  have  been  converted  into  weakness  and  poverty;  for,  in  truth,  an 
empire  loses  all  its  stability  when  it  ceases  to  observe  its  laws. 

These  considerations  have  been  ever  present  to  our  mind,  and  since  the 
day  of  our  accession  to  the  throne  the  thought  of  the  public  good,  of 
the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  provinces,  and  the  alleviation  of  the 
national  burdens,  have  not  ceased  to  claim  our  entire  attention.  If  we  take 
into  consideration  the  geographical  position  of  the  Ottoman  Provinces,  the 
fertility  of  the  soil,  and  the  aptness  and  intelligence  of  the  inhabitants,  we 
shall  attain  the  conviction  that,  by  applying  ourselves  to  discover  efficacious 
methods,  the  result  which,  with  the  aid  of  God,  we  hope  to  obtain,  will  be 
realized  within  a  few  years. 

Thus,  then,  full  of  confidence  in  the  help  of  the  Most  High,  supported  by 
the  intercession  of  pur  Prophet,  we  consider  it  advisable  to  attempt  by  new 
institutions  to  attain  for  the  provinces  composing  the  Ottoman  Empire  the 
benefits  of  a  good  administration. 


HATTI   SHERIF   OF  GUL  HANE.  481 

These  institutions  will  principally  refer  to  these  topics  :  — 

1.  The  guarantees  which  Avill  insure  our  subjects  perfect  security  for  their 
lives,  their  honor,  and  their  property. 

2.  A  regular  method  of  establishing  and  collecting  the  taxes. 

3.  An  equally  regular  method  of  recruiting,  levying  the  army,  and  fixing 
duration  of  the  service. 

In  truth,  are  not  life  and  honor  the  most  precious  blessings  in  existence  ? 
What  man,  whatever  may  be  his  detestation  of  violence,  would  refrain  from 
having  recourse  to  it,  and"  thereby  injuring  the  government  and  his  country, 
if  his  life  and  honor  are  exposed  to  danger?  If,  on  the  contrary,  he  enjoys 
perfect  security  in  this  respect,  he  will  not  forget  his  loyalty,  and  all  his  acts 
will  conduce  to  the  welfare  of  the  government  and  his  fellow-subjects. 

If  there  is  no  security  for  their  fortune,  all  listen  coldly  to  the  voice  of 
their  Prince  and  country;  none  attend  to  the  progress  of  the  common  weal, 
absorbed  as  they  are  in  their  own  troubles.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  citizen 
possesses  in  confidence  his  property,  of  whatever  kind  it  may  be,  then  full 
of  ardor  for  his  own  affairs,  the  sphere  of  which  he  strives  to  extend  in  order 
to  increase  that  of  his  own  enjoyments,  he  daily  feels  his  love  for  his  Prince 
and  his  country  growing  more  fervent  in  his  heart.  These  sentiments 
become  within  him  the  source  of  the  most  laudable  actions. 

It  is  of  the  highest  importance  to  regulate  the  imposition  of  the  taxes,  as 
the  State,  which  in  the  defence  of  its  territory  is  forced  into  various  expenses, 
cannot  procure  the  money  necessary  for  the  army  and  other  branches  of  the 
service,  save  by  contributions  levied  on  its  subjects. 

Although,  thanks  to  God,  our  subjects  have  been  for  some  time  delivered 
from  the  scourge  of  monopolies,  falsely  regarded  hitherto  as  a  source  of 
revenue,  a  fatal  practice  still  exists,  although  it  can  only  have  the  most 
disastrous  consequences :  it  is  that  of  the  venal  concessions  known  by  the 
name  of  Iltizim. 

Under  this  system  the  civil  and  financial  administration  of  a  province  is 
intrusted  to  the  arbitrary  will  of  an  individual,  that  is,  at  times,  to  the  iron 
hand  of  the  most  violent  and  covetous  passions ;  for,  if  the  administrator  is 
not  good,  he  cares  for  nothing  but  his  own  advantage. 

It  is  therefore  necessary  that,  in  future,  each  member  of  the  Ottoman 
Society  should  be  taxed  in  a  ratio  to  his  fortune  and  his  ability,  and  that 
nothing  further  should  be  demanded  from  him. 

It  is  also  necessary  that  special  laws  should  fix  and  limit  the  expenses  of 
our  forces  on  land  and  sea. 

Although,  as  we  have  said,  the  defence  of  the  country  is  of  paramount 
consideration,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  all  the  inhabitants  to  furnish  soldiers  for 
this  end,  it  is  necessary  to  establish  laws  to  regulate  the  contingent  which 
each  district  should  furnish,  according  to  the  requirements  of  the  moment, 
and  to  reduce  the  time  of  active  military  service  to  four  or  five  years,  for  it  is 
both  committing  an  injustice  and  inflicting  a  deadly  blow  on  the  agriculture 
and  industry  of  the  country,  to  take,  without  regard  to  the  respective 
populations  of  the  districts,  more  from  one  and  less  from  another  than  they 
are  able  to  furnish,  at  the  same  time  it  is  reducing  the  soldiers  to  despair  and 
contributing  to  the  depopulation  of  the  country  to  retain  them  during  their 
whole  life  in  the  service. 

_  In  fine,  without  the  various  laws,  the  necessity  of  which  has  been  recog 
nized,  the  Empire  can  neither  possess  strength,  nor  wealth,  nor  prosperity, 
nor  tranquillity.  On  the  contrary,  it  may  hope  for  them  all  from  the  exis't- 
ence  of  these  new  laws. 

For  this  reason,  in  future,  the  cause  of  every  accused  party  will  be  tried 
publicly,  in  conformity  with  our  divine  law;  and  until  a  regular  sentence  has 
been  pronounced,  no  one  can  put  another  to  death,  secretly  or  publicly,  by 
poison,  or  any  other  form  of  punishment. 

No  one  will  be  permitted  to  assail  the  honor  of  any  one,  whosoever  he 
may  be. 

Every  person  will  enjoy  the  possession  of  his  property  of  every  nature, 
21  EJ3 


482  APPENDIX. 

and  dispose  of  it  with  the  most  perfect  liberty,  without  any  one  being  able 
to  impede  him.  Thus,  for  example,  the  innocent  heirs  of  a  criminal  will  not 
be  deprived  of  their  legal  rights,  and  the  property  of  the  criminal  will  not  be 
confiscated. 

These  Imperial  concessions  extend  to  all  our  subjects,  whatever  religion 
or  sect  they  may  belong  to,  and  they  will  enjoy  them  without  any  excep 
tion. 

Perfect  security  is.  therefore,  granted  by  us  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Empire,  with  regard  to  their  life,  their  honor,  and  their  fortune,  as  the  sacred 
text  of  our  law  demands. 

With  reference  to  the  other  points,  as  they  must  be  regulated  by  the  con 
currence  of  enlightened  opinions,  our  Council  of  Justice,  augmented  by  AS 
many  new  members  as  may  be  deemed  necessary,  to  whom  will  be  adjoined, 
on  certain  days  which  we  shall  appoint,  our  minister  and  the  notables  of  the 
Empire,  will  meet  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  the  fundamental  laws  on 
these  points  relating  to  the  security  of  life  and  property  and  the  imposition 
of  the  taxes.  Every  one  in  these  'assemblies  will  state  his  ideas  freely  and 
give  his  opinion. 

The  laws  relating  to  the  regulations  of  the  military  service  will  be 
discussed  by  the  Military  Council,  holding  its  meeting  at  the  palace  of  the 
Seraskier.  As  soon  as  the  law  is  decided  upon,  it  will  be  presented  to  us, 
and  in  order  that  it  may  be  eternally  valid  and  applicable,  we  will  confirm 
it  by  our  sanction,  written  above  it  with  our  Imperial  hand. 

As  these  present  institutions  are  solely  intended  for  the  regeneration  of 
religion,  government,  the  nation,  and  the  Empire,  we  engage  to  do  nothing 
which  may  be  opposed  to  them. 

As  a  pledge  for  our  promise,  we  intend,  after  having  deposited  this  in  the 
hall  which  contains  the  glorious  relics  of  the  Prophet,  in  the  presence  of  all 
the  Ulema  and  Grandees  of  the  Empire,  to  take  an  oath  in  the  name  of  the 
Almighty,  and  cause  the  Ulema  aud  Grandees  also  to  swear  to  that  effect. 

After  that,  any  one  of  the  Ulema  or  Grandees,  or  any  other  person  what 
soever,  who  violates  these  institutions,  will  undergo,  without  regard  to  rank, 
consideration,  or  credit,  the  punishment  appointed  for  his  guilt  when  proven. 
A  penal  code  will  be  drawn  up  to  this  effect. 

As  all  the  functionaries  of  the  Empire  will  receive  from  this  day  a  suitable 
salarv,  and  those  whose  functions  are  not  at  present  sufficiently  rewarded 
will  be  advanced,  a  rigorous  law  will  be  passed  against  the  traffic  in  favors 
and  appointments,  which  the  divine  laws  reprove,  and  which  is  one  of  the 
principal  causes  of  the  decay  of  the  Empire. 

The  enactments  thus  made  being  a  complete  renovation  and  alteration 
in  ancient  usages,  this  Imperial  Rescript  will  be  published  at  Constantinople 
and  in  all  the  towns  of  our  Empire,  and  will  be  officially  communicated  to  all 
the  Ambassadors  of  friendly  Powers  residing  in  Constantinople,  in  order  that 
they  may  be  witnesses  of  the  concession  of  these  institutions,  which,  with 
the  favor  of  the  Almighty,  will  endure  for  ever. 

May  the  all-powerful  God  have  us  all  in  His  holy  keeping ! 

May  those  who  commit  any  act  contrary  to  the  present  institutions  be 
the  objects  of  the  divine  malediction,  and  eternally  deprived  of  every  kind 
of  happiness ! 

The  following  are  the  Pledges  given  by  the  Porte  and  the 
Sultan,  in  consequence  of  the  beheading  of  the  Armenian  in 
1843,  mentioned  on  page  291  :  — 

"The  Sublime  Porte  engages  to  take  effectual  measures  to  prevent, 
henceforward,  the  execution  and  putting  to  death  of  the  Christian  who  is  aa 
apostate. 

"  March  22, 1844." 


PROTESTANT    CHARTERS.  483 

"  Declaration  of  His  Highness,  the  Sultan,  to  Sir  Stratford  Canning,  at 
his  audience  on  the  2-3d  of  March,  1844 :  — 

"  Henceforth  neither  shall  Christianity  be  insulted  in  my  dominions,  nor 
shall  Christians  be  in  any  way  persecuted,  for  their  religion." 

The  First  Protestant  Charter,  Ministerial  in  its  character  and 
authority,  as  stated  on  page  330,  was  issued  in  1847.  It  is  as 
follows  :  — 

PROTESTANT  CHARTER  OF  184T. 

To  His  Excellency  The  Pushah  Comptroller  of  the  City  Revenue: 

Whereas,  The  Christian  subjects  of  the  Ottoman  Government  professing 
Protestantism  have  experienced  difficulty  and  embarrassments'  from  not 
being  hitherto  under  a  special  and  separate  jurisdiction,  and  naturally  the 
Patriarch  and  the  Heads  of  the  sects  from  which  they  have  separated  not 
being  able  to  superintend  their  affairs ;  and 

Whereas,  It  is  in  contravention  to  the  supreme  will  of  his  Imperial 
Majesty,  our  Gracious  Lord  and  Benefactor  (may  God  increase  him  in  years 
and  power),  animated,  as  he  is,  with  feelings  of  deep  interest  and  clemency 
towards  all  classes  of  his  subjects,  that  any  of  them  should  be  subjected  to 
grievance;  and 

Whereas,  The  aforesaid  Protestants,  in  conformity  with  the  creed  pro 
fessed  by  them,  do  form  a  separate  community  : 

It  is  his  Imperial  Majesty's  supreme  will  and  command,  that,  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  facilitating  their  affairs  and  of  securing  the  welfare  of  said  Prot 
estants,  the  administration  thereof  should  be  henceforward  confided  to  Your 
Excellency,  together  with  the  allotment  of  the  taxes  to  which  they  are  sub 
jected  by  law  ;  that  you  do  keep  a  separate  register  of  their  births  a'nd  deaths 
m  the  bureau  of  your  department,  according  to  the  system  observed  with 
regard  to  the  Latin  subjects  ;  that  you  do  issue  passports  and  permits  of  mar 
riage,  and  that  any  person  of  established  character  and  good  conduct  chosen 
by  them  to  appear  as  their  Agent  at  the  Porte  for  the  transaction  and  settle 
ment  of  their  current  affairs,  be  duly  appointed  for  that  purpose. 

Such  are  the  Imperial  Commands,  which  you  are  to  obey  to  the  letter. 

But  although  passports  and  the  allotment  of  taxes  "are  placed  under 
special  regulations  which  cannot  be  infringed  upon,  you  will  be  careful  that, 
in  pursuance  of  his  Majesty's  desire,  no  taxes  be  exacted  from  the  Protes 
tants  for  permits  of  marriage  and  registration  ;  that  any  necessarv  assistance 
and  facility  be  afforded  to  them  in  their  current  affairs  ;  that  no  interference 
whatever  be  permitted  in  their  temporal  or  spiritual  concerns  on  the  part  of 
the  Patriarch,  monks,  or  priests  of  other  sects ;  but  that  they  be  enabled  to 
exercise  the  profession  of  their  creed  in  security,  and  that  they  be  not 
molested  one  iota,  either  in  that  respect,  or  in  any  other  way  whatever. 

RESHID,  Grand  Vizier. 

Nov.  15, 1847. 

This  Charter,  not  having  the  authority  of  the  Sultan,  was 
liable  to  repeal.  Accordingly  a  new  Charter  was  granted  to  the 
Protestants  by  the  Sultan,  Abdul  Medjid,  in  1850,  as  stated  on 
page  352  :  — 

IMPERIAL  PROTESTANT  CHARTER  OF  1850. 

To  my  Vizier,  Mohammed  Pashah,  Minister  of  Police  at  my  Capital,  the 
honorable  Minister  and  glorious  Counsellor,  the  Model  of  the  World,  and 


484  APPENDIX. 

Regulator  of  the  Affairs  of  the  Community,  who,  directing  the  public  in 
terests  with  sublime  prudence,  consolidating  the  structure  of  the  Empire 
with  wisdom,  and  strengthening  the  columns  of  its  prosperity  and  renown, 
is  the  recipient  of  every  grace  from  the  Most  High.  May  God  prolong  his 
glory. 

When  this  Sublime  and  August  Mandate  reaches  you,  let  it  be  known 
that, 

Whereas,  Hitherto  those  of  my  Christian  subjects  who  have  embraced 
the  Protestant  faith  have  suffered  inconvenience  and  difficulties,  in  conse 
quence  of  their  not  being  placed  under  a  separate  and  special  jurisdiction, 
and  in  consequence  of  the  Patriarchs  and  Primates  of  their  old  creeds,  which 
they  have  abandoned,  naturally  not  being  able  to  administer  their  affairs ; 
and 

Whereas,  In  necessary  accordance  with  my  Imperial  compassion,  which 
extends  to  all  classes  of  my  subjects,  it  is  contrary  to  my  Imperial  pleasure 
that  any  one  class  of  them  should  be  exposed  to  trouble  ;"and 

Whereas,  By  reason  of  their  faith,  the  above-mentioned  already  form  a 
separate  community,  it  is,  therefore,  my  Royal  compassionate  will,  that,  by 
all  means,  measures  be  adopted  for  facilitating  the  administration  of  their 
affairs,  so  that  they  may  live  in  peace,  quiet,  and  security. 

Let,  then,  a  respectable  and  trustworthy  person,  acceptable  to  and  chosen 
by  themselves,  from  among  their  own  number,  be  appointed,  with  the  title 
of  "Agent  of  the  Protestants,"  who  shall  be  attached  to  the  department  of 
the  Minister  of  Police. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Agent  to  have  under  his  charge  the  register 
of  the  members  of  the  community,  which  shall  be  kept  at  the  police.  The 
Agent  shall  cause  to  be  registered  therein  all  births  and  deaths  in  the  com 
munity.  All  applications  for  passports  and  marriage  licenses,  and  special 
transactions  of  the  community,  that  are  to  be  presented  to  the  Sublime  Porte, 
or  to  any  other  department,"  must  be  given  under  the  official  seal  of  this 
Agent. 

For  the  execution  of  my  will,  this,  my  Roval  Mandate  and  August  Com 
mand,  has  been  specially  issued  and  granted  from  my  Imperial  chancery. 

Hence,  thou,  the  minister  above  named,  in  accordance  with  the  explana 
tions  given,  will  execute  to  the  letter  the  preceding  ordinance ;  except  that, 
as  the  collection  of  capitation  tax,  and  the  delivery  of  passports  are  subjected 
to  specific  regulations,  you  will  not  do  any  thing  contrary  to  them.  You  will 
not  permit  any  thing  to  be  required  of  them,  on  pretence  of  fees  or  expenses, 
for  marriage  licenses  or  registration. 

You  will  see  to  it  that,  like  the  other  communities  of  the  Empire,  in  all 
their  affairs,  and  in  all  matters  appertaining  to  their  cemeteries  and  places  of 
worship,  they  should  have  every  facility  and  needed  assistance.  You  will 
not  permit  that  any  of  the  other  communities  should  in  any  way  interfere 
with  their  rites,  or  with  their  religious  concerns  ;  and,  in  short,  "in  no  wise 
with  any  of  their  affairs,  secular  or  religious  ;  that  thus  they  may  be  enabled 
to  exercise  the  usages  of  their  faith  in  security. 

And  it  is  enjoined  upon  you  not  to  allow  them  to  be  molested  an  iota  in 
these  particulars,  or  in  any  others,  and  that  all  attention  and  perseverance  be 
put  in  requisition  to  maintain  them  in  quiet  and  security.  And  in  case  of 
necessity,  they  are  permitted  to  make  representations  regarding  their  affairs 
through  their  Agent  to  the  Sublime  Porte. 

When  this,  my  Imperial  will,  shall  be  brought  to  your  knowledge  and 
appreciation,  you  will  have  this  August  Edict  registered  in  the  proper  depart 
ment,  and  ca'use  it  to  be  perpetuated  in  the  hands  of  the  above-mentioned 
subjects,  and  you  will  see  to  it  that  its  requirements  be  always  executed  iu 
their  full  import. 

Thus  be  it  known  to  thee,  and  respect  my  sacred  signet. 

Written  in  the  holy  month  of  Moharrem,  A.  H.  1267  (November,  1850). 

Given  in  the  protected  city  of  Constantinople 


IMPERIAL   FIRMAN   OF    1853.  485 

Even  this  did  not  fully  protect  the  Protestants.  Its  provisions 
were  disregarded  by  the  governors  of  some  of  the  provinces, 
and  persecution  of  the  Protestants  continued.  In  1853,  another 
Firman  was  issued,  and  sent  to  all  the  governors,  as  well  as  the 
head-men  of  the  Protestants,  requiring  that  the  previous  Char 
ters  should  be  strictly  enforced. 

IMPERIAL  FIRMAN  OF  1853. 

Let  attention  be  given  to  the  unchangeable,  constant,  and  perpetual 
execution  of  the  provisions  contained  in  this,  my  High  Firman  ;  and  let  care 
be  taken  not  to  contravene  it. 

To  Sdepan,  the  chosen  and  honorable  Vakeel  of  the  Protestant  Christian 
community!  May  your  honor  be  increased!  When  my  High  Finnan 
reaches  you,  know  that  the  all-just  and  sovereign  God,  the  gracious  giver  of 
good,  according  to  His  divine,  excellent,  and  boundless  goodness,  having 
caused  my  Imperial  and  August  person  to  reign  in  regal  glory ;  and  having 
elevated  me  to  the  lofty  and  Imperial  rank  of  Caliph,  I  give  thanks  and  glory 
that  so  many  cities  and  diverse  classes  and  subjects,  nations  and  servants, 
are  committed  to  the  hand  of  my  most  just  Caliphate,  as  a  special  divine 
trust.  Wherefore,  in  accordance  with  the  benevolence  due  from  my  civil 
and  spiritual  power,  and  also  in  conformity  with  the  excellent  custom  "of  my 
Sultanship  and  my  sovereignty,  being  favored  by  the  divine  goodness  and 
aided  from  above,  since  my  succeeding  to  the  happy  Imperial  throne,  I  have 
used  all  my  care  to  secure  perfect  protection  to  each  class  of  all  the  subjects 
of  my  government,  and  especially,  as  in  all  former  times,  that  they  may 
enjoy  perfect  quiet  in  the  performance  of  religious  rites  and  services,  without 
distinction,  in  accordance  with  my  true  and  honest  Imperial  purpose  and 
my  benevolent  will ;  and  my  Imperial  government,  continually  and  without 
ceasing,  watches  for  the  same. 

And  since  the  good  and  useful  effects  of  these  measures  are  at  all  times 
plainly  manifest,  it  is  my  Imperial  desire  that  no  improper  or  disorderly 
thing,  of  whatever  kind,  be  thoughtlessly  occasioned  to  the  faithful  subjects 
of  my  kingdom  of  the  Protestant  faith,  and  that  the  special  privileges  granted 
by  my  Imperial  government,  concerning  religion  and  matters  pertaining  to 
it,  be  in  all  respects  perpetually  preserved  from  all  detriment.  And  as  it  is 
my  Imperial  will  that  no  injury,  of  whatever  kind,  or  in  whatever  manner, 
come  upon  them,  therefore,  this  most  righteous  Imperial  edict  has  been 
written,  that  those  who  act  against  it  may  know  that,  exposing  themselves 
to  my  Royal  indignation,  they  shall  be  punished.  Notice  has  been  given  to 
the  proper  authorities,  so  that"  there  may  not  be  the  least  ground  of  excuse, 
if  there  should  happen  in  any  way  a  neglect  of  this  ordinance. 

And  this,  my  tirm  decree,  has  been  issued  from  my  Royal  divan,  to  make 
known  and  establish  it  as  my  Imperial  purpose,  that  this  thing  shall  be  car 
ried  into  full  and  complete  execution.  Wherefore,  you,  who  are  the  above- 
mentioned  Vakeel,  on  learning  this,  will  always  move  and  act  in  accordance 
with  the  demands  of  this,  my  High  Finnan,  and  carefully  abstain  from  any 
thing  at  variance  with  these  things ;  and  if  any  thing  shall  occur  contrary  to 
this,  my  decisive  order,  you  will  forthwith  make  it  known  to  the  Sublime 
Porte.  Know  this  to  be  so,  and  give  credence  to  my  Imperial  cypher. 

Written  in  the  last  of  the  month  Shaban,  1269. 

The  following  is  the  celebrated  Hatti  Humayoun  of  1856, 
issued  by  the  Sultan,  Abdul  Medjid,  in  compliance  with  a 


486  APPENDIX. 

demand  from  the  European  Powers  that  the  death-penalty  foi 
a  change  of  religion  should  be  abolished.     See  page  385. 

HAITI  HUMAYOUN  OF  1856. 

Let  it  "be  done  as  herein  set  forth. 

To  you,  my  Grand  Vizier,  Mehemed  Emin  Aali  Pasha,  decorated  with 
my  Imperial  Order  of  the  Medjidye"  of  the  first  class,  and  with  the  Order  of 
Personal  Merit;  may  God  grant  to  you  greatness  and  increase  your  power! 

It  has  always  been  my  most  earnest  desire  to  insure  the  happiness  of  all 
classes  of  the  subjects  whom  Divine  Providence  has  placed  under  my  Imperial 
sceptre;  and  since  my  accession  to  the  throne  I  have  not  ceased  to  direct  all 
my  efforts  to  the  attainment  of  that  end. 

Thanks  to  the  Almighty,  these  unceasing  efforts  have  already  been  pro 
ductive  of  numerous  useful  results.  From  day  to  day  the  happiness  of  the 
nation  and  the  wealth  of  my  dominions  go  on  "augmenting. 

It  being  now  my  desire  "to  renew  and  enlarge  still  more  the  new  institu 
tions,  ordained  with  the  view  of  establishing  a  state  of  things  conformable 
with  the  dignity  of  my  Empire  and  the  position  which  it  occupies  among 
civilized  nations;  and  the  rights  of  my  Empire  having,  by  the  fidelity  and 
praiseworthy  efforts  of  all  my  subjects,  and  by  the  kind  and  friendly  assist 
ance  of  the  Great  Powers,  my  noble  Allies,  received  from  abroad  a  confirmation 
which  will  be  the  commencement  of  a  new  era,  it  is  my  desire  to  augment 
its  well-being  and  prosperity,  to  effect  the  happiness  of  all  my  subjects,  who 
in  my  sight  are  all  equal  and  equally  dear  to  me,  and  who  are  united  to  each 
other  by  the  cordial  ties  of  patriotism,  and  to  insure  the  means  of  daily 
increasing  the  prosperity  of  my  Empire.  I  have,  therefore,  resolved  upon, 
and  I  order  the  execution  of,  the  following  measures  :  — 

The  guarantees  promised  on  our  part  by  the  Hatti  Humayoun  of  Gill 
Hane,  and  in  conformity  with  the  Tanzimat,  to  all  the  subjects  of  my  Empire, 
without  distinction  of  classes  or  of  religion,  for  the  security  of  their  persons 
and  property  and  the  preservation  of  their  honor,  are  to-day  confirmed  and 
consolidated  ;  and  efficacious  measures  shall  be  taken  in  order  that  they  may 
have  their  full  and  entire  effect. 

All  the  privileges  and  spiritual  immunities  granted  by  my  ancestors,  ab 
(intifjuo,  and  at  subsequent  dates,  to  all  Christian  communities  or  other  non- 
Mussulman  persuasions,  established  in  my  Empire  under  my  protection,  shall 
be  confirmed  and  maintained. 

Every  Christian  or  other  non-Mussulman  community  shall  be  bound, 
within  a  fixed  period,  and  with  the  concurrence  of  a  commission  composed, 
ad  Aoc,  of  members  of  its  own  body,  to  proceed,  with  my  high  approbation 
and  under  the  inspection  of  my  Sublime  Porte,  to  examine  into  its  actual 
immunities  and  privileges,  and  to  discuss  and  submit  to  my  Sublime  Porte 
the  reforms  required  by  the  progress  of  civilization  and  of  the  age.  The  powers 
conceded  to  the  Christian  Patriarchs  and  Bishops  by  the  Sultan  Mahomet  II. 
and  his  successors  shall  be  made  to  harmonize  with  the  new  position  which 
my  generous  and  beneficent  intentions  insure  to  these  communities. 

The  principle  of  nominating  the  Patriarchs  for  life,  after  the  revision  of 
the  rules  of  election  now  in  force,  shall  be  exactly  carried  out,  conformably 
to  the  tenor  of  their  firmans  of  investiture. 

The  Patriarchs,  Metropolitans,  Archbishops,  Bishops,  and  Rabbins  shall 
take  an  oath  on  their  entrance  into  office,  according  to  a  form  agreed  upon  in 
common  by  my  Sublime  Porte  and  the  spiritual  heads  of  the  different  religious 
communities.  The  ecclesiastical  dues,  of  whatever  sort  or  nature  they  be, 
shall  be  abolished,  and  replaced  by  fixed  revenues  for  the  Patriarchs  and  heads 
of  communities,  and  by  the  allocation  of  allowances  and  salaries  equitably 
proportioned  to  the  importance  of  the  rank  and  the  dignity  of  the  different 
members  of  the  clergy. 

The  property,  reaTor  personal,  of  the  different  Christian  ecclesiastics  shall 


HATTI   HUMAYOUN.  487 

remain  intact;  the  temporal  administration  of  the  Christian  or  other  non- 
Mussulman  communities  shall,  however,  be  placed  under  the  safeguard  of  an 
assembly  to  be  chosen  from  among  the  members,  both  ecclesiastics  and  laymen, 
of  the  said  communities. 

In  the  towns,  small  boroughs,  and  villages,  where  the  whole  population 
is  of  the  same  religion,  no  obstacle  shall  be  offered  to  the  repair,  according 
to  their  original  plan,  of  buildings  set  apart  for  religious  worship,  for  schools, 
for  hospitals,  and  for  cemeteries. 

The  plans  of  these  different  buildings,  in  case  of  their  new  erection,  must, 
after  having  been  approved  by  the  Patriarchs  or  Heads  of  communities,  be 
submitted  to  my  Sublime  Porte,  which  will  approve  of  them  by  my  Imperial 
order,  or  make  known  its  observation  upon  them  within  a  certain  time. 

Each  sect,  in  localities  where  there  are  no  other  religious  denominations, 
shall  be  free  from  every  species  of  restraint  as  regards  the  public  exercise  of 
its  religion. 

In  the  towns,  small  boroughs,  and  villages,  where  different  sects  are 
mingled  together,  each  community  inhabiting  a  distinct  quarter  shall,  by 
conforming  to  the  above-mentioned  ordinances,  have  equal  power  to  repair 
and  improve  its  churches,  its  hospitals,  its  schools,  and  its  cemeteries. 
When  there  is  question  of  the  erection  of  new  buildings,  the  necessary 
authority  must  be  asked  for,  through  the  medium  of  the  Patriarchs  and  heads 
of  communities,  from  my  Sublime  Porte,  which  will  pronounce  a  sovereign 
decision  according  to  that  authority,  except  in  the  case  of  administrative 
obstacles.  The  intervention  of  the  administrative  authority  in  all  measures 
of  this  nature  will  be  entirely  gratuitous.  My  Sublime  Porte  will  take 
energetic  measures  to  insure  to  each  sect,  whatever  be  the  number  of  its 
adherents,  entire  freedom  in  the  exercise  of  its  religion. 

Every  distinction  or  designation  tending  to  make  any  class  whatever  of 
the  subjects  of  my  Empire  inferior  to  another  class,  on  account  of  their 
religion,  language,  or  race,  shall  be  for  ever  effaced  from  the  administrative 
protocol.  The  laws  shall  be  put  in  force  against  the  use  of  any  injurious  or 
offensive  term,  either  among  private  individuals  or  on  the  part  of  the 
authorities. 

As  all  forms  of  religion  are  and  shall  be  freely  professed  in  my  dominions, 
no  subject  of  my  Empire  shall  be  hindered  in  the  exercise  of  the  religion  that 
he  professes,  nor  shall  be  in  any  way  annoyed  on  this  account.  No  one  shall 
be  compelled  to  change  his  religion. 

The  nomination  and  choice  of  all  functionaries  and  other  employes  of  my 
Empire  being  wholly  dependent  upon  raw  sovereign  will,  all  the  subjects  of 
my  Empire,  without*  distinction  of  nationality,  shall  be  admissible  to  public 
employments,  and  qualified  to  fill  them  according  to  their  capacity  and  merit, 
and  conformably  with  rules  to  be  generally  applied. 

All  the  subjects  of  my  Empire,  without  distinction,  shall  be  received  into 
the  civil  and  military  schools  of  the  government,  if  they  otherwise  satisfy 
the  conditions  as  to  age  and  examination,  which  are  specified  in  the  organic 
regulations  of  the  said  schools.  Moreover,  every  community  is  authorized 
to  establish  public  schools  of  science,  art,  and  industry.  Only  the  method  of 
instruction  and  the  choice  of  professors  in  schools  of  this  class  shall  be  under 
the  control  of  a  mixed  Council  of  Public  Instruction,  the  members  of  which 
shall  be  named  by  my  sovereign  command. 

All  commercial,  correctional,  and  criminal  suits  between  Mussulman  and 
Christian,  or  other  non-Mussulman  subjects,  or  between  Christians  or  other 
non-Mussulmans  of  different  sects,  shall  be  referred  to  mixed  tribunals. 

The  proceedings  of  these  tribunals  shall  be  public ;  the  parties  shall  be 
confronted,  and  shall  produce  their  witnesses,  whose  testimony  shall  be 
received,  without  distinction,  upon  an  oath  taken  according  to  the  religious 
law  of  each  sect. 

Suits  relating  to  civil  affairs  shall  continue  to  be  publicly  tried,  according 
to  the  laws  and  regulations,  before  the  mixed  provincial  councils,  in  the 
presence  of  the  governor  and  judge  of  the  place.  Special  civil  proceedings, 


488  APPENDIX. 


guch  as  those  relating  to  successions,  or  others  of  that  kind,  between  subjects 
of  the  same  Christian  or  other  non-Mussulman  faith,  may,  at  the  request  of 
the  parties,  be  sent  before  the  councils  of  the  patriarchs  or  of  the  commu 
nities. 

Penal,  correctional,  and  commercial  laws,  and  rules  of  procedure  for  the 
mixed  tribunals,  shall  be  drawn  up  as  soon  as  possible,  and  formed  into  a 
code.  Translations  of  them  shall  be  published  in  all  the  languages  current 
in  the  Empire. 

Proceedings  shall  be  taken,  with  as  little  delay  as  possible,  for  the  reform 
of  the  penitentiary  svstem,  as  applied  to  houses  of  detention,  punishment, 
or  correction,  and  other  establishments  of  like  nature,  so  as  to  reconcile  the 
rights  of  humanity  with  those  of  justice.  Corporal  punishment  sball  not  be 
administered,  even  in  the  prisons,  except  in  conformity  with  the  disciplinary 
regulations  established  by  my  Sublime  Porte  ;  and  every  thing  that  resembles 
torture  shall  be  entirely  abolished. 

Infractions  of  the  law  in  this  particular  shall  be  severely  repressed,  and 
shall  besides  entail,  as  of  right,  the  punishment,  in  conformity  with  the  civil 
code,  of  the  authorities  who  may  order  and  of  the  agents  who  may  commit 
them. 

The  organization  of  the  police  in  the  capital,  in  the  provincial  towns,  and 
in  the  rural  districts,  shall  be  revised  in  such  a  manner  as  to  give  to  all  the 
peaceable  subjects  of  my  Kmpire  the  strongest  guarantees  for  the  safety  both 
of  their  persons  and  property. 

The  equality  of  taxes  entailing  equality  of  burdens,  as  equality  of  duties 
entails  that  of  rights,  Christian  subjects,  and  those  of  other  non-Mussulman 
sects,  as  it  has  been  already  decided,  shall,  as  well  as  Mussulmans,  be  sub 
ject  to  the  obligations  of  the  Law  of  Recruitment.  The  principle  of  obtaining 
substitutes,  or  of  purchasing  exemption,  shall  be  admitted.  A  complete  law 
shall  be  published,  with  as  little  delay  as  possible,  respecting  the  admission 
into  and  service  in  the  army  of  Christian  and  other  non-Mussulman 
subjects. 

Proceedings  shall  be  taken  for  a  reform  in  the  constitution  of  the  provincial 
and  communal  councils,  in  order  to  insure  fairness  in  the  choice  of  the  deputies 
of  the  Mussulman,  Christian,  and  other  communities,  and  freedom  of  voting 
in  the  councils.  My  Sublime  Porte  will  take  into  consideration  the  adoption 
of  the  most  effectual  means  for  ascertaining  exactly  and  for  controlling  the 
result  of  the  deliberations  of  the  decisions  arrived  at. 

As  the  laws  regulating  the  purchase,  sale,  and  disposal  of  real  property 
are  common  to  all  the  subjects  of  my  Empire,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  foreign 
ers  to  possess  landed  property  in  my  dominions,  conforming  themselves  to 
the  laws  and  police  regulations,  and  bearing  the  same  charges  as  the  native 
inhabitants,  and  after  arrangements  have  been  come  to  with  foreign  powers. 

The  taxes  are  to  be  levied  under  the  same  denomination  from  all  the 
subjects  of  my  Empire,  without  distinction  of  class  or  of  religion.  The  most 
prompt  and  energetic  means  for  remedying  the  abuses  in  collecting  the  taxes, 
and  especially  the  tithes,  shall  be  considered.  The  system  of  direct  collec 
tion  shall  gradually,  and  as  soon  as  possible,  be  substituted  for  the  plan  of 
farming,  in  all  the  branches  of  the  revenues  of  the  State.  As  long  as  the 

Gesent  system  remains  in  force,  all  agents  of  the  government  and  all  rnem- 
rs  of  the  Medjlis  shall  be  forbidden,  under  the  severest  penalties,  to  become 
lessees  of  any  farming  contracts  which  are  announced  for  public  competition, 
or  to  have  any  beneficial  interest  in  carrying  them  out.  The  local  taxes 
shall,  as  far  as  possible,  be  so  imposed  as  not  to  affect  the  sources  of  produc 
tion,  or  to  hinder  the  progress  of  internal  commerce. 

Works  of  public  utility  shall  receive  a  suitable  endowment,  part  of  which 
shall  be  raised  from  private  and  special  taxes,  levied  in  the  provinces  which 
shall  have  the  benefit  of  the  advantages  arising  from  the  establishment  of 
ways  of  communication  by  land  and  sea. 

*A  special  law  having  been  already  passed,  which  declares  that  the  budget 
of  the  revenue  and  expenditure  of'  the  State  shall  be  drawn  up  and  made 


HATTI   HUMAYOUN.  489 

known  every  year,  the  said  law  shall  be  most  scrupulously  observed.  Pro 
ceedings  shall  be  taken  for  revising  the  emoluments  attached  to  each  offico 

The  heads  of  each  community  and  a  delegate,  designated  by  my  Sublime 
Porte,  shall  be  summoned  to  take  part  in  the  deliberations  of  the  Supreme 
Council  of  Justice  on  all  occasions  which  might  interest  the  generality  of  the 
subjects  of  my  Empire.  They  shall  be  summoned  specially  for  this  purpose 
by  my  Grand  Vizier.  The  delegates  shall  hold  office  for  one  year ;  they 
shall  be  sworn  on  entering  upon  their  duties.  All  the  members  of  the 
Council,  at  the  ordinary  and  extraordinary  meetings,  shall  freely  give  theii 
opinions  and  their  votes,  and  no  one  shall  ever  annoy  them  on  this  account. 

The  laws  against  corruption,  extortion,  or  malversation  shall  apply, 
according  to  the  legal  forms,  to  all  the  subjects  of  my  Empire,  whatever  ma> 
be  their  class  and  the  nature  of  their  duties. 

Steps  shall  be  taken  for  the  formation  of  banks  and  other  similar  institu 
tions,  so  as  to  effect  a  reform  in  the  monetary  and  financial  system,  as  well 
as  to  create  funds  to  be  employed  in  augmenting  the  sources  of  the  material 
wealth  of  my  Empire. 

Steps  shall  also  be  taken  for  the  formation  of  roads  and  canals  to  increase 
the  facilities  of  communication  and  increase  the  sources  of  the  wealth  of  the 
country.  Every  thing  that  can  impede  commerce  or  agriculture  shall  be 
abolished.  To  accomplish  these  objects,  means  shall  be  sought  to  profit  by 
the  science,  the  art,  and  the  funds  of  Europe,  and  thus  gradually  to  execute 
them. 

Such  being  my  wishes  and  my  commands,  you,  who  are  my  Grand  Vizier, 
will,  according  to  custom,  cause  this  Imperial  Firman  to  be  published  in  my 
Capital,  and  in  all  parts  of  my  Empire  ;  and  you  will  watch  attentively  and 
take  all  the  necessary  measures  that  all  the  orders  which  it  contains  be 
henceforth  carried  out  with  the  most  rigorous  punctuality. 

The  Hatti  Humayoun  was  communicated  by  the  Sultan  to 
the  representatives  of  Great  Britain,  France,  Austria,  Russia, 
Sardinia,  and  Turkey,  who  met,  in  February,  1856,  to  form 
the  Treaty  of  Paris.  The  following  is  an  extract  from  the 
Treaty  :  — 

"NINTH  ARTICLE.  — His  Imperial  Majesty  the  Sultan  having,  in  his  con 
stant  solicitude  for  the  welfare  of  his  subjects,  issued  a  Firman,  which,  while 
ameliorating  their  condition,  without  distinction  of  religion  or  race,  records 
his  generous  intentions  towards  the  Christian  population  of  his  Empire ;  and 
wishing  to  give  a  further  proof  of  his  sentiments  in  that  respect,  has  resolved 
to  communicate  to  the  Contracting  Parties  the  said  Firman  emanating  spon 
taneously  from  his  sovereign  will. 

"  The  Contracting  Powers  recognize  the  high  value  of  this  communication. 
It  is  clearly  understood  that  it  cannot  in  any  case  give  to  said  Powers  the 
right  to  interfere,  either  collectively  or  separately,  in  the  relations  of  His 
Majesty  the  Sultan  with  his  subjects,  nor  in  the  internal  administration  of 
his  Empire." 


Cambridge:  Press  of  John  Wilson  &  Son. 


530  BROADWAY.  NEW  YOUK, 
November.  1875. 


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HELPS  TO  BIBLE  STUDY, 


PUBLISHED   BY 


ROBERT  BARTER 


*MATTHEW  HENRY'S  COMMENTARY  ON  THE  BIBLE. 

In  9  volumes,  8vo.,  cloth,        ....         $27.00 
In  5  volumes,  quarto,  sheep,  -        -  25.00 

It  would  be  easy  to  name  commentators  more  critical,  more  philosophical,  or 
more  severely  erudite ;  but  none  so  successful  in  making  the  Bible  understood.  In 
the  words  of  the  late  JAMES  HAMILTON,  D.D.,  who  has  done  as  much  as  any  man  to 
promote  the  circulation  of  HENRY'S  Commentary,  "  It  has  nov;  lasted  more  than  one 
hundred  and  forty  years,  and  is  at  this  moment  more  popular  than  ever,  gathering 
strength  as  it  rolls  down  the  stream  of  time ;  and  it  bids  fair  to  be  the  Comment 
for  all  coming  time.  True  to  GOD,  true  to  nature,  true  to  common  sense,  how  can  it 
ever  be  superseded  ?  Waiting  pilgrims  will  be  reading  it  when  the  last  trumpet 
sounds,  Come  to  judgment  1"  Or,  in  the  words  of  Dr.  ALEXANDER,  "Taking  it  as  a 
whole,  and  as  adapted  to  every  class  of  readers,  this  Commentary  may  be  said  to  com 
bine  more  excellence  than  any  work  of  the  kind  which  was  ever  written  in  any  lan 
guage." 

'POOL'S  ANNOTATIONS  ON  THE  BIBLE. 

3  volumes,  royal  8vo.,       ...  -         15.00 

RICHARD  CECIL  says  "  POOL  is  incomparable." 
EDWARD  BICKERSTETH  says  "  Judicious  and  full." 

T.  H.  HORNE  says  "  He  who  wishes  to  understand  the  Scriptures  will  rarely 
consult  them  without  advantage." 


10  HELPS   TO   BIBLE   STUDY. 


"HORNE'S  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  STUDY  OF  THE 
BIBLE. 

One  volume,  royal  8vo.,  sheep,         ...          5.00 

"  An  indispensable  work  for  a  theological  library.  *  *  *  It  is  a  work 
of  gigantic  labor.  The  results  of  the  research  and  erudition  of  scholars  of  all  coun 
tries  and  in  all  time  are  here  faithfully  garnered." — Evangelist. 

KITTO'S  BIBLE  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

4  volumes,  121110.,      ---..-          y.oo 

"  I  cannot  lose  this  opportuity  of  recommending,  in  the  strongest  language  and 
most  emphatic  manner  I  can  command,  this  invaluable  series  of  books.  I  believe  for 
the  elucidation  of  the  historic  parts  of  Scripture,  there  is  nothing  comparable  with 
them  in  the  English  or  any  other  language." — John  Angel  James. 

DR.  HANNA'S  LIFE  OF  CHRIST. 

3  volumes,  -        -        -        -        -          4.50 

"  We  can  most  heartily  commend  the  '  Life  of  our  Lord'  by  Dr.  HANNA." — Con 
gregational  Quarterly. 

"  Sabbath-s>chool  teachers  will  find  Dr.  HANNA'S  work  very  helpful." — 6".  S.  Times. 

"  From  a  perusal  of  these  volumes  we  believe  that  the  sympathetic  reader  will 
carry  away  a  more  distinct  image  of  the  character  and  life  of  Christ,  and  his  relation 
to  his  contemporaries,  than  he  can  gain  from  the  more  brilliant  page  of  PRESSENSE, 
or  the  more  elaborate  discussions  of  NEANDER.'" — North  British  Review. 

DR.  JACOBUS'  COMMENTARIES. 

Genesis,  2  volumes  in  one,          ....  1.50 

Exodus.     Part  I,         ------  i.oo 

Matthew  and  Mark,    -        -         -        -        -        -  1.50 

Luke  and  John,           ------  1.50 

Acts,                    -                 -        -        -        -        -  1.50 

The  value  of  Dr.  JACOBUS*  Notes  is  evinced  by  the  fact 
that  over  ONE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND  VOLUMES  of  them  have  been 
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Drs.  HCDGE,  GREEN,  and  others  of  Princeton,  say:  "The  excellent  Commen- 
taiies  of  Dr.  JACOBUS  have  deservedly  attained  a  high  reputation.  They  present,  in 
a  brief  compass,  the  results  of  extensive  erudition,  abound  injudicious  exposition  and 
pertinent  illustration,  and  are,  moreover,  distinguished  by  doctrinal  soundness,  evan 
gelical  character,  and  an  eminently  devout  spirit." 


HELPS   TO    BIBLE   STUDY.  11 


RYLE  ON  THE  GOSPELS. 

7  volumes,  121110,       ------  10.50 

OR  SEPARATELY: 

Matthew, 1.50 

Mark,          ...                  ....  L^O 

Luke,  2  volumes,        -        -        -        -        -        -  3.00 

John,  3  volumes,         ------  4.50 

"  Wu  know  of  no  comment  that,  as  a  whole,  gives  as  much  satisfaction  in  the 
study  of  the  Divine  Word  as  this." — Christian  Instructor, 

"  Those  who  are  engaged  in  teaching  others  will  find  in  them  a  treasury,  full  of 
edifying  and  instructive  suggestions." — Episcopal  Register. 

BONAR'S  BIBLE  THOUGHTS  AND  THEMES. 

Genesis — Earth's  Morning,          -  2.00 

Old  Testament,  ------  2.00 

Gospels,     --------  2.00 

Acts  and  the  Larger  Epistles,  -        -        -  2.00 

Lesser  Epistles,          ..---.  2.00 

Revelation,         -------  2.oo 

"  The  condensed  riches  of  Bible  truth." 

DR.  HODGE'S  COMMENTARIES. 

Corinthians,  2  volumes,       -----  3.50 

Ephesians,  __.-_.  x.y- 

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DR.  CROSBY  ON  JOSHUA,  -        -          i.oo 

DR.  GREEN  ON  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB,      -        -          1.75 

"  The  thanks  of  the  Christian  public  are  due  to  the  scholarly  and  devout  Prof. 
W.  H.  GREEN,  of  Princeton,  for  a  modest,  but  as  we  think,  exceptionably  valuable 
little  treatise  on  the  Book  of  Job." — Congregationalist. 

HORNE  ON  THE  PSALMS,         -        ...          2.50 
BRIDGES  ON  THE  PROVERBS,         -        -        -          2.50 


12  HELPS   TO   BIBLE   STUDY. 


HAMILTON  ON  ECCLESIASTES.     (Royal  Preacher).  1.25 

MISS  NEWTON  ON  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON,  1.25 

BROWN  ON  THE  DISCOURSES  OF  OUR  LORD,  3.50 

ARNOT  ON  ACTS.     (Church  in  the  House).          -  2.50 

HALDANE  ON  ROMANS,    .....  3.00 

CHALMERS  ON  ROMANS,          ....  2.50 

'BROWN  ON  ROMANS, 2.00 

McGHEE  ON  EPHESIANS,           ....  3.00 

LILLIE  ON  THESSALONIANS,            -        -        -  2.00 

*SAMPSON  ON  HEBREWS,          ....  3.00 

MISS  NEWTON  ON  HEBREWS,  ....  1.50 

DR.  BROWN  ON  FIRST  PETER,        -                 -  3.50 

BUTLER  ON  THE  APOCALYPSE,      -        -        -  1.50 

THE  BOOK  AND  ITS  STORY,   -        ...  1.50 

FRESH  LEAVES  FROM  THE  BOOK  AND  ITS  STORY,  2.00 

BOWES,  THE  SCRIPTURE  ITS  OWN  ILLUSTRATOR,  1.50 

DRUMMOND  ON  THE  PARABLES,  -  1.75 

DYKES  ON  THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.     3  vols.,  3.75 

THE  WORD  SERIES.     By  Miss  WARNER.     3  vols.,  4.50 

THE  FOOTSTEPS  OF  ST.  PAUL.     By  Macduff,  1.50 

ERASER'S  LECTURES  ON  THE  BOOKS  OF  THE 

BIBLE.     2  volumes,                    -                 -  4.00 

THE  CHRIST  OF  HISTORY.     By  JOHN  YOUNG,  1.25 

NATURE  AND  THE  BIBLE.     By  DAWSON,  1.75 

BLUNTS   COINCIDENCES   AND   PALEY'S   HOR^E 

PAULINA,       -  1.50 

PALEY'S  EVIDENCES,    Edited  by  Prof.  NAIRNE,  1.50 


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